


The Strength of the Wolf: Star-Crossed

by LennaNightrunner, Savannah_Clover



Series: The Strength of the Wolf [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Side Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-02
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-04-24 09:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4914130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LennaNightrunner/pseuds/LennaNightrunner, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Savannah_Clover/pseuds/Savannah_Clover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A companion piece to <em>The Strength of the Wolf</em>; <em>Star-Crossed</em> depicts scenes involving two original side characters (Hannah Bristow and Zach Thompson) and is meant to be read alongside the main fic. It is not essential to the main storyline, but fits with it. Fair warning: If you are not reading the main fic, <em>Star-Crossed</em> will make very little sense!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Kiss Me Slowly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A companion piece to The Strength of the Wolf; Star-Crossed depicts scenes involving two original side characters (Hannah Bristow and Zach Thompson) and is meant to be read alongside the main fic. It is not essential to the main storyline, but fits with it. Fair warning: If you are not reading the main fic, Star-Crossed will make very little sense!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part I of _Star-Crossed_ takes place during Chapters 22 and 23 of _[The Strength of the Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3703403)_ and before Chapter 24.

THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF: STAR-CROSSED

PART ONE: KISS ME SLOWLY (Parachute)

> _I’m not sure where this is gonna go,_  
>  _but in this moment all I know_  
>  _is the skyline through the window,_  
>  _the moon above you, and the streets below._  
>  _Hold my breath as you’re moving in,_  
>  _taste your lips, and feel your skin._  
>  _When the time comes, baby, don’t run._  
>  _Just kiss me slowly._

It was just a dance, an innocent little dance, Hannah told herself as she dragged Zach onto the dancefloor. And dancing involves touching, she reasoned as her fingers caught in his belt loops, as he took her offered hand and spun her in time with the beat, as their faces came close enough to...

“What?” she shouted.

Zach started to repeat himself, but smiled instead and shook his head. They both knew there was no way she’d be able to hear him over the music. He pulled her off the dancefloor by the hand he still hadn’t let go of and back towards the quieter corner where they’d been sitting before.

He still had to lean close to make himself heard, though, which Hannah was completely okay with.

“I said, I’m having fun.”

Hannah laughed. “Then why did you stop?”

Zach’s blush was obvious even in the dim lighting of the club. He muttered something that she didn’t catch, which made Hannah lean in closer, until they were almost as close as they’d been while dancing, but she still couldn’t hear him.

Hannah made an annoyed sound. The club was too loud. There were too many people. All she wanted to do was get to know this gorgeous, clever boy (who talked far too much about dandelions) better.

“Come on!” she shouted, gesturing towards the patio. There would be loads of smokers out there, but at least it would be quieter.

The moment Hannah stepped out through the door, she sighed with relief. She hadn’t realised how hot it had been in the club until the chilly air hit her bare arms, causing instant gooseflesh. There weren’t even that many people on the patio, she was pleased to see. That meant fresh air _and_ privacy.

She turned and leaned back against the low barrier, smiling at Zach a few steps behind her. “There, that’s better,” she was able to say at a normal speaking level. “Now, what were you saying?”

“That I’m having a good time?” Zach said awkwardly.

A person should not be allowed to be so _adorable_ and sexy all at once.

“I’m glad,” Hannah said lamely. “I’d feel awful for dragging you out if you weren’t. I’m trying to make up for how Tobias behaved, after all.”

“It’s all right,” Zach insisted. “Really, it is. No point souring the evening by dwelling on it, right?”

“I suppose so,” said Hannah.

“Besides,” said Zach, “if that hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t be here right now, would we?”

The shy smile he gave her when he said it practically gave Hannah stomach butterflies. It was a horrible cliché, but she had never felt this way about anyone before, especially so quickly. She was feeling all of those sensations from romantic films and pop songs--that nervous energy, the inexplicable magnetic spark--and she didn’t care that it was juvenile or sappy; she just wanted more of it. She wanted more of Zach.

“No, I s’pose we wouldn’t,” said Hannah, returning his smile. Boldly, she moved a step closer to him. The magnetic spark grew stronger. And there was nothing in the world Hannah wanted to do so much as kiss Zach in that moment, and she had the feeling that he might let her, that he might _want_ her to do it--

But then Zach’s eyes flitted up over Hannah’s shoulder, and what he saw made him take a step back from her. Hannah glanced around just in time to see Jackson fleeing back into the club as if he’d just seen something disturbing. Hannah wondered how long he’d been standing there.

“Sorry,” Zach muttered. “Jack’s got an extremely annoying habit of trying to protect me. “

“I’ve gathered as much,” said Hannah. “I assume he’s worried his big brother will fall prey to the devious hunter girl?”

There was no point denying it, after all. Hannah would have to come clean sooner or later, and now was as good a time as any. If Zach somehow hadn’t worked it out for himself yet, he’d only be angrier with her later if she put off telling him.

“To say the least,” said Zach. The fact that he was unfazed made it clear that he had, in fact, put the pieces together. Really, what other humans besides hunters would know about werewolves (or be that prejudiced against them, in Toby’s case)? “He also failed to mention that bit of information.”

“Well, now you know about me,” said Hannah, “and you’re still here.”

“Well, I suspect you might know something about me,” Zach countered, “and _you’re_ still here.”

Hannah smiled at him, but before she could respond, he rushed on: “Those things I said before…”

“About you not being human or a werewolf?” Hannah guessed when Zach didn’t continue, keeping her voice down, though there was little chance of someone nearby hearing her say the ‘W’-word.

Zach bit his lower lip self-consciously (which was somewhat distracting; he had a _very_ nice mouth). “What your cousin said. He was right. Rude, but right.”

“So you’re half and half.” Hannah shrugged, not quite understanding what the big deal was. Toby had made it sound like something horrible, but Hannah couldn’t see any reason to be bothered by it. It had been fairly clear as soon as she had met Zach that there was something wolfish about him: the very fact that he was with Isaac and Jackson, of course, but also his mannerisms, and the fact that Jackson referred to him as his ‘brother.’ But she hadn’t been completely certain as to whether he was himself a werewolf. Once she had noticed his piercings, she had ruled that out.

“My mum’s human,” Zach confirmed. “Most of the pack don’t treat me much differently to the proper wolves, but Jack’s… Well, you’ve met him.”

“I have,” Hannah said, with a laugh in her voice.

“On the positive side,” said Zach, “Meant I could get these.” He gestured vaguely to his facial and ear piercings, even sticking out his tongue a bit to show off a stud there. (As if he weren’t sexy enough already.)

His fringe fell in his eyes as he did so, and Hannah couldn’t help herself. She reached up and brushed it out of the way. It was soft and fine, and the dyed bright red was subdued by the soft glow of the lights on the patio. Hannah wanted to run her fingers through it, but she was leery of overstepping her bounds. She really hadn’t known Zach that long, and she knew that she could come on a little strong.

Zach looked momentarily startled, but then gave her another shy smile. Emboldened by the encouragement, she let her finger trace down the shell of Zach’s ear, careful of his piercings, before drawing her hand back.

“I s’pose we ought to go find the puppies,” she said reluctantly. Zach looked like he was going to say something, but instead, just nodded in agreement.

Hannah wasn’t sure which one of them initiated it, or even how it had happened exactly, but somehow, as they headed back into the noise and chaos of the club, their fingers became intertwined.

 

 

Grounded. For the first time in her life, Hannah was grounded. She hadn’t even known that was actually a thing that happened outside of TV. _Grounded_.

She sat in her desk chair, legs tucked up, slowly spinning. Maybe if she did it long enough, she could make herself believe the queasy feeling in her stomach was on account of the motion sickness.

What bothered her the most was the smug look on Tobias’s swollen face when her dad had made his decree. Cheeky bastard. This was entirely Toby’s fault! He had blown everything way out of proportion, and now she was grounded. She really should’ve hit him harder. If she’d known he’d do this, she would have done.

So she’d been flirting with a werewolf. Not even _technically_ a werewolf, she reminded herself yet again, not that it seemed to matter to the rest of her family (who, admittedly, _hunted_ werewolves for a living). So did Hannah, or, she would, anyway, when her gran announced her fit to be considered a full hunter in her own right. After tonight, Hannah wasn’t sure that would ever happen. She also wasn’t sure how she even felt about that.

The wolf boys had all been terribly sweet and understanding about the whole mess, but it didn’t make it any less awkward. As well-meaning as Isaac had been, walking her back last night (so late it had really been this morning) hadn’t helped the situation at home, either. So now Hannah was caught in a vortex of awkwardness. Fighting an awkward war being awkwardly assaulted on two awkward fronts.

Hannah _loathed_ awkwardness.

She liked things to be easy and straightforward and non-judgmental. Was that so much to ask?

At least Zach hadn’t seemed upset when she’d told him she was a hunter. He had already figured it out, but it still had to have been a bit of a shock that his friends--who were also werewolves--were spending time with a hunter. Surely Zach would have questions about that.

Hannah stopped spinning in the chair and threw herself onto her bed dramatically, eyes closed and stomach tumbling. She hadn’t thought about it at the time, but was there a possibility that she had just been flirting with Zach _because_ he was part werewolf? Hannah wasn’t in the habit of lying to herself, and she’d always had a bit of an attraction to playing with fire and other dangerous things. (Not that she had acted on it enough to get herself in trouble before.) Was Zach just another dangerous thing? Did that explain the attraction?

At first, Hannah hadn’t been able to get much information out of Isaac about Jackson’s gorgeous, red-haired “brother” (which she had been pretty sure meant pack) after meeting him in the coffee shop. She had texted Isaac that evening, only vaguely trying to be casual in her interest, and they had gleefully enthused about his beauty together. But looks were only skin deep, as Hannah well knew. She wanted to know the real stuff, and for that, she would have to talk to him again.

That had been one week ago. One week plus a day; a day of incredible, amazing, _awkward_ things. If it hadn’t been for an overly casual, completely manipulative comment from Aunt Wendy forcing her to invite Tobias along, it wouldn’t have even been awkward. But that was Wendy’sway of keeping an eye on Hannah who, according to Wendy was “already much too sympathetic to the animals we (hunters) ought to be putting down.” Looking back on it, the evening had gone almost exactly as Hannah should have expected it to. Maybe slightly better, simply because there hadn’t been any casualties, and there really, really could have been.

At least clouting Tobias hadn’t signaled the end of the evening. Going to the club had been fun, dancing with Zach had been brilliant, but just getting to talk to him, to be close to him, had been the best part of the evening by far.

Hannah had never considered herself a romantic. Sure, she’d had her share of relationships by teenager standards, but she couldn’t remember ever feeling so connected to someone before; someone she could never imagine herself spending too much time with or getting bored with or tired of. But Zach was funny, and something about the shy way he looked at her made the butterflies in her stomach pick up jackhammers. Even the memory of it now made them flutter a bit.

She wanted to brush the whole thing off. The last thing she needed right now was to be interested in _anyone_ , let alone a _werewolf_ (not _technically_ , but close enough in her family’s eyes), but she knew that wasn’t how these things worked. Crushes didn’t just go away just because you asked them to nicely, and they had a nasty habit of cropping up when it was most inconvenient.

Whatever it was that was happening between her and Zach, it was _something_. She just didn’t know what exactly that was yet, or what she wanted it to become. And now she was grounded, left to stew and obsess over it.

God, was she _bored_. Being grounded was awful. No phone, no computer, no telly, not even any training. Not that the phone was any great loss; she hadn’t gotten his number anyway, and he was the only person Hannah wanted to talk to right now.

...So why shouldn’t she? If her dad was already cross with her, there probably wasn’t too much more she could do to make it worse, she considered as she gazed at her bedroom window thoughtfully.

* * *

Zach’s senses might not have been quite as finely tuned as the members of his pack who were of the more wolfy persuasion, but the minute he opened the door to his room, he could tell someone had been inside.

Correction, someone _was_ inside.

And she was looking at a picture. Not just any picture; _that_ picture. The one from the home-produced theatrical version of Little Red Riding Hood that Sarah had written, directed, and starred in when they were children, conning half the pack into helping her build a set in the sitting room (so no one had been able to actually use the room for a week), and the other half into acting in the play. The photograph was of Sarah (Little Red herself), Rodger (the Big Bad Wolf, of course), and Zach, who had a dark beard drawn on his cherubic face with make-up and was holding an axe made from a kitchen roll. Zach simultaneously adored and loathed that picture. It was not one he would have chosen to show a girl who he desperately wanted to think he was at least a little bit cool.

Zach wasn’t sure what he was more embarrassed about: that Hannah was looking at _that_ picture or that he had a pile of laundry on the floor that still needed to be folded.

The fact that he ought to be confused about why she was in his room at all didn’t actually occur to him until a few moments after that. Then it was instantly forgotten again when Hannah glanced up and smiled at him mischievously.

“Hope you don’t mind,” she said. “I let myself in.”

“You climbed in through my window?” said Zach, shutting the door behind him. “That’s a little Shakespearean, don’t you think?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Hannah, setting down the picture exactly back where it had been. “I picked your lock.”

“I feel as though I ought to find that creepy...”

“I was aiming for charmingly assertive,” said Hannah, and her mischievous smile became mysterious. “I like to take initiative.”

“Well, I’ve never been happier to be burgled,” said Zach. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“‘Nice,’ he says.” Hannah giggled. “I’m flattered.”

Zach felt his ears starting to get warm, but he tried to ignore it and press on. After all, it wasn’t every day an opportunity like this literally broke into your room and figuratively fell into your lap.

“Not to make it sound like you’re not welcome here, because you’re _very_ welcome here, but… To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?”

“I wanted to see you again.” Hannah shrugged. “I like you. I think you like me. So I decided I’d pop ‘round to see if I’m right. Am I?”

“Eh?” Zach said eloquently, having become somewhat distracted by the words ‘I like you’ and missing the rest.

“Do you like me?” she reiterated. If she was nervous at all, she hid it well.

Zach gave her a cautious smile as he nodded.

“Good,” said Hannah, returning his smile. “I like being right.”

Zach’s stomach felt like it had just joined the circus from all the flipping it was doing. He didn’t know if he was supposed to be frightened or excited or relieved or some other entirely new emotion that would have to be invented specifically for this moment in time because there was nothing in his life that could have prepared Zach for this moment.

So to put off thinking about it, Zach busied himself making excuses for the state of his room and gathering up all the laundry and hiding it in his closet (like that was actually any better; now she was going to think he was a slob and an idiot). Hannah sat in Zach’s desk chair to stay out of his way while he flitted about the room like the idiot she must now think he was. He was just about to offer her a drink--which was incredibly silly considering he didn’t have any cups besides the one he kept water in, or anything to drink (besides water) for that matter--when she spoke up again.

“Is there a reason you’re all the way over there?” Hannah cocked her head to the side. Zach didn’t realise until then that he was hovering near his closet. “It’s just that this is your room, and I feel awkward with you standing over there and me sitting in your chair.”

Zach laughed nervously and took a few steps closer to Hannah. “Sorry. You’re a bit... intimidating.”

“Intimidating?” She looked puzzled. “Why, because I’m a hunter?”

“That, too,” said Zach. The next words came out almost without conscious thought: “But mostly because you’re beautiful. Stunningly.”

Hannah turned her head slightly and arched an eyebrow as if to ask, ‘Is that all?’

“I expect you get called beautiful all the time, though,” said Zach, backtracking. This was a disaster. Zach had no business trying to be _suave_. It was all going to backfire on him horribly.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t like hearing it,” said Hannah with a slow smile. “Depending on who’s saying it. But I expect you’re complimented on your looks quite often, yourself.”

“Now and then,” said Zach, stifling a smile.

He remembered Isaac openly staring at him when they’d first met and going on about his appearance. That wasn’t an uncommon reaction. Unfortunately, people thinking he was aesthetically pleasing to look at hadn’t translated into meaningful relationships very often. It was flattering that people liked the way he looked, but actions spoke louder than words.

“Oh, shut it,” Hannah teased. “You are well aware of how gorgeous you are.”

Zach laughed, which made Hannah laugh in turn. Her laugh was almost as beautiful as the rest of her. It put Zach at ease, and he moved to sit at the edge of his bed, facing Hannah, who pivoted in the desk chair to face Zach. They were roughly at eye level now, knees inches apart, but though Zach was heart-in-his-throat nervous, he was still (mostly) comfortable with her.

“So you like me,” said Hannah, as if the last minute or so of their conversation had been a tangent and she wanted to get back on track. “Why do you like me? Besides the fact that I’m ‘stunningly beautiful,’ obviously.”

“Well, to start, no one’s ever punched anyone for me before,” Zach said with a smile.

“I didn’t do it for you,” said Hannah. “Tobias was being rude and overprotective. I don’t need anyone protecting me.”

“Yeah, I get that general sense from you,” said Zach. “Still, it probably kept Jack from attacking a human in public. So, thanks.”

“You looked quite fierce yourself, Mowgli,” said Hannah. “Not that I blame you. What he said about your mother was horrible.”

 _Mowgli_. A boy raised by wolves. The pet name likely would’ve been annoying coming from anyone else, but from Hannah it was somehow endearing. Zach liked that she had thought about him enough to give him a pet name (and it was nicer than ‘Puss,’ in any case).

Zach shrugged. “I’ve heard much worse. But I don’t like people touching me when I don’t want them to. Particularly men, and particularly when they’re trying to hurt me.”

“I think that sounds perfectly reasonable,” Hannah assured him. She cocked her head to the side and regarded Zach thoughtfully for a moment.

The intensity of her gaze made Zach look down self-consciously. So she knew, then. Maybe Isaac or Jack had told her, but most likely she’d figured it out on her own. She was perceptive, and it wasn’t as if Zach looked or sounded particularly masculine, after all. Usually he managed to look like a boy about five years younger than his actual age.

“Just… don’t feel sorry for me or anything, right? I hate it from anyone, but I’m not sure I could bear it from you.”

Hannah ducked her head to try to get Zach to look at her.

“With those eyes?” She made a mock scoffing sound. “You’ll get no sympathy from me. How can they be blue and yellow at the same time?”

Zach laughed. “You might not want to ask a Biology student about that. I’ve taken several modules on Genetics, and I expect you’ll want to sleep at some point before dawn.”

“That would depend on what I was staying awake for,” said Hannah, her expression suggestive. “If I had a professor with a mouth like yours, I might pay more attention in classes.”

Completely shameless, this girl! Zach slowly raised his head and met Hannah’s dark eyes. “Just so you know… As you’re not a man and you’re not looking to injure me--at least, I don’t _think_ you are--it’s all right for you to touch me.”

When Hannah arched an elegant eyebrow at him, Zach blushed furiously. “Shit, could I be worse at this?”

“Yes,” said Hannah. She smiled and tousled Zach’s hair, which caused him to lean into her hand like a dog being petted before he realised what he was doing. As soon as he did, he pulled back abruptly.

“Oh, God. Can we forget I just did that?” said Zach, mortified. “It’s just that I grew up with werewolves, and--”

“Not a chance,” said Hannah, giving him a scratch behind the ear for good measure--which actually did feel _unbelievably_ good--before pulling her hand away. “That is too adorable. I’ll remember it for as long as I possibly can.”

“Adorable,” repeated Zach. “Not the adjective I’d choose for myself.”

“How would you prefer to be described?” said Hannah, eyes dancing. “Sexy? Because you definitely are that.”

She reached for the zip of the hoodie Zach was wearing, and Zach flinched away from her hand reflexively, pulse spiking from nerves. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to touch him (in fact, the idea was very appealing); he just hadn’t expected her to do that and wasn’t sure what she wanted.

“Sorry!” said Hannah, quickly pulling her hand back, dismayed. “I wasn’t thinking. I only wanted to see your tattoo.”

Zach glanced down at himself and realised that his hoodie was unzipped enough that the top of his wolf pawprint was visible. It occurred to him then that every other time he’d seen Hannah, he’d been wearing a shirt or jacket with long sleeves that was buttoned up enough to cover all of his tattoos.

“No, I’m sorry,” said Zach. “Just skittish. It’s okay.”

When Hannah didn’t go for the zip again, Zach rolled his eyes and took her hand, moving it there. “It really is okay.”

Hannah watched Zach’s eyes as she unzipped his hoodie and helped him take it off. As soon as it was off, though, her gaze dropped to his body. He was wearing a tank with a relatively low neckline, so most of his tattoos were visible. She looked stunned by the sheer number of them at first (a common reaction), but then she smiled at the part of the pawprint that was visible--a couple of paw pads and claws--near his collarbone, and then cautiously (presumably in case he didn’t want her to) traced some of the little images in his right upper-arm sleeve. Her fingernails tickled, but Zach managed to keep from laughing by watching her expression of awed fascination.

“Yeah,” said Hannah, biting her lower lip as she examined the symbols inked in black. “Really bloody sexy.”

Though there was quite a bit more ink on his right arm, the four words on the inside of his left forearm caught Hannah’s eye, saving Zach from having to find an appropriate response.

“‘Mind, heart, self, soul’?” she read aloud, making it a question.

“It’s…” Zach struggled to find an explanation. “I don’t know how much you know about werewolf mantras. They help werewolves focus when they feel like they’re going to shift, especially on the full moon. Our pack use an old one. That’s a reference to it.”

“Can I hear the whole thing, or is it a secret?”

Zach smiled. “I don’t know if it’s a secret, but I suppose that, as you’re a hunter, I ought to make you promise not to repeat it.”

“I promise,” Hannah said earnestly.

“All right.” Zach cleared his throat so he could recite it properly. “‘Nor moon, nor men, nor stars control my mind, my heart, my self, my soul.’” He said it with reverence. Those fifteen words had gotten his packmates and generations of other werewolves through the most difficult parts of their lives. They deserved respect.

Hannah paused before speaking. “That’s beautiful.”

Zach fidgeted, growing self-conscious again. He didn’t know what to say to that, and Hannah wasn’t saying anything, either. She was regarding him with an unreadable expression.

“What’s that look for?” said Zach, hoping to keep the silence from growing awkward.

“I was just thinking that I’d like to kiss you,” said Hannah, matter-of-factly, “and wondering if I should ask your permission first.”

Zach’s pulse skipped at her words, but he managed to stay relatively collected (or, at least, he hoped so). “Yeah? Have you decided?”

“I’m not sure,” said Hannah. Her voice had the kind of tone you’d use when choosing between two breakfast options. Zach would’ve smiled if he hadn’t been so nervous. “On the one hand, asking doesn’t sound particularly sexy or romantic. People don’t usually ask, do they?”

It was a rhetorical question, but Zach shook his head anyway.

“On the other hand…” Hannah tapped her finger against her own lips, examining Zach like he was a particularly complicated maths problem she was just on the verge of solving.

Zach hadn’t realised he’d been holding his breath until she spoke:

“May I kiss you, Zach?”

He nodded dumbly, having to take a deep breath and clear his throat twice before he could force the word “Yes” out of his mouth.

As soon as he’d said it, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. They were full and warm and tasted of some kind of vanilla balm. She needed to brace her hands on his legs so she wouldn’t fall out of the chair, and Zach put one of his hands on her hip to help steady her, the other one moving to hold the back of her neck. He nearly groaned when she opened her mouth for his tongue, and he took full advantage of the invitation.

It was a top-notch first kiss with someone new, and one of the best kisses Zach had ever had, no exaggeration necessary. Hannah’s mouth was _made_ for kissing. She also seemed to like his tongue stud and the labret stud below his bottom lip, which boded well. (He tried his best not to hit the metal against her teeth.) Zach immediately developed a new life goal: Kiss Hannah at every opportunity (or at least when he could pluck up the courage).

When the chair situation became too awkward, Zach got his arms around Hannah’s waist and tugged her onto the single bed with him (even though it caused a twinge in the shoulder that Hannah’s cousin had shoved). She kicked off her shoes--Zach followed suit--and settled in like she belonged there, and pulled Zach close to her, letting him kiss her and responding enthusiastically. She encouraged him without pushing, mindful of any boundaries she might be crossing, but at the same time it didn’t make Zach feel delicate. It was certainly the most considerate anyone had been when snogging the breath out of Zach.

Still, after a few minutes, it became a bit overwhelming. Zach was grateful that Hannah didn’t seem affronted when he stopped kissing her, and he settled in on his side, facing her. She smiled a heartbreakingly beautiful smile at him, lips kiss-flushed, and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. They were both breathing hard, sharing the same air.

“You’re fun to kiss,” she said, in the hushed tone people automatically adopt when they’re lying in a bed in a dimly-lit room. It made Zach think about the other things people do when they’re lying in a bed in a dimly-lit room.

“So’re you,” said Zach, matching her tone. ‘Fun’ didn’t even come close to describing kissing Hannah, but it was a start.

“So much fun, in fact,” she continued, “that I practically forgot to breathe. Thanks for letting me come up for air.”

Zach knew what she was doing. But somehow, he didn’t mind. Maybe it was the fact that she was so genuine about it, that she wasn’t being sarcastic or snide, and really seemed to understand, but he was grateful for it, even if he didn’t really know how to respond to it.

Luckily, once again, she didn’t make him.

“Of course, if I get overwhelmed by how sexy you are and ever do forget to breathe, you’ll remind me, yeah?”

“Definitely,” said Zach, kissing her again briefly to show that, despite being skittish, he was still very interested. Hannah seemed to appreciate that.

They settled into the bed, facing each other. Hannah asked Zach questions about himself to keep him talking so he wouldn’t get overly nervous. She seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say. Her focus on him was undivided, to the point where sometimes he had to look away while he was talking. If it bothered her, she didn’t say.

“What was it like, growing up human in a werewolf pack?” asked Hannah after Zach told a funny story about how Rodger used to lurk in his bedroom closet when he was little and scare the living daylights out of him by making his eyes glow when Zach opened it.

“Well, I’m not human,” said Zach, idly twining his fingers with Hannah’s. She’d taken his hand in hers a few minutes ago. “I mean, not fully.”

“How’s that?” asked Hannah, puzzled.

“My mother’s human. My father’s a wolf. Rodger’s dad is Welsh and his mum is from Pakistan. Rodge mostly looks Pakistani. But half his blood’s still Welsh, right?”

Hannah considered this for a moment. “I suppose. But is it the same? You can’t transform, can you?”

Zach shrugged. “No, but I don’t mind. It makes full moons easier. When I was young, my mum and I used to stay at a posh hotel together sometimes. A mini-break to get us out of the flat so the others wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally hurting us. When I got older I could stay and help Sarah--my biological sister. She’s got wolf abilities.” Zach had some vague recollection that maybe he had mentioned Sarah when he’d been drunk, but he wasn’t entirely sure. “Then I moved here when I started university, so this is where I usually stay on full moons. Close enough to the den if they need me.”

Hannah smiled when Zach used the word ‘den,’ but she didn’t comment on it.

“So the full moon doesn’t affect you?”

“I get a bit… giddy,” said Zach. “Restless. But it might just be because of my pack. Their emotions can be sort of infectious.”

“What happens if a half-werewolf who’s born without the ability to transform gets bitten by an alpha?”

“No one in our pack knows, actually,” said Zach. “Hell, hunters may know more about it than we do. You could ask your dad, maybe.”

“Yes, that would go over well,” Hannah drawled. She lifted their entwined hands and kissed the back of Zach’s. Like she wanted contact with him but was trying to rein herself in.

“Would you ever consider taking the Bite?” she asked, like the Bite was something strange and dangerous to her. Zach supposed that to a hunter, especially a young one, it would be.

“No,” said Zach, with certainty. “Our pack think--and I agree--that with half-wolves, whichever side wins out in the womb is what you’re meant to be. My dad was our pack’s alpha when I was conceived, so I’ve already been exposed to whatever it is in an alpha’s bite that turns people. If another alpha bit me, I’d probably either be immune, or my body would reject the Bite and I’d die.”

Hannah looked fascinated. “And you’re a scientist. This must drive you mad!”

“Yes,” Zach said emphatically. “I keep wondering if the Bite is like a virus, and if it is, why some people survive it and some don’t. And how the transformation works on a biological level. I think that’s part of why I started studying it in the first place.”

“Nerd,” Hannah teased. She traced the tattoo on Zach’s upper left arm to emphasize her point: it was a band made of a DNA strand.

“What gave me away?” he said, and kissed her when she smiled.

They fell into kissing again for what seemed like a long while--Zach had to grab a glass of water from his bedside table for them somewhere in the middle--until Zach got overwhelmed again. He wanted Hannah. He wanted her _badly_. But it had been a while since he’d done this, and last time it hadn’t ended particularly well, and objectively he didn’t really know Hannah--

He sat up suddenly, hugging one knee to his chest, turning away from Hannah. Why did this have to be so complicated?

Zach felt Hannah slowly sitting up behind him. A moment later, her hand tentatively settled on his shoulder, just a reminder of her presence, nothing insistent. This was good; this he could handle. The touch became a pressureless rub, back and forth across his shoulders, then a gentle scratch up his neck and into his hair. Zach felt himself slowly relaxing. He wondered idly if Hannah somehow knew about pack comfort; what she was doing reminded him of what pack members would sometimes do when he or someone else in the pack was upset, especially the young ones.

After a bit, Hannah’s hand stilled, and her cheek came to rest against Zach’s shoulder blade.

“It’s okay,” she whispered. Her other hand came up to squeeze his arm gently. “You’re safe with me.”

“I know,” he whispered as well, catching her hand before she could pull it away and lacing their fingers together again. “But my body won’t listen to my brain. Instincts and all that.”

“You’re not the only one,” said Hannah, bumping her forehead against his shoulder playfully. “But I promise I’ll behave.”

“Then I promise I’ll tell you when you don’t need to behave anymore,” said Zach, trying his best to be confidently flirty.

“It’s a deal,” said Hannah. She reached for the glass of water and happened to look at Zach’s alarm clock. “Shit! Am I keeping you awake? Have you got classes tomorrow?”

“Yes, and yes,” said Zach. “But I don’t mind.”

Hannah frowned. “Are you sure? I could go if you--”

“Please don’t leave yet,” Zach surprised himself by saying. “I can stay up a bit longer. You’re more important than sleep.”

She gave him a surprisingly sweet smile in response, but then Zach yawned, causing her to burst into the kind of giggles you only hear when people are awake in the middle of the night.

Yes, Zach was exhausted, and it was difficult not to yawn again, but he dragged Hannah back down to lie on the bed with him properly. And maybe it was because he was so tired, or because she was so beautiful and wonderful, or because the way she talked and kissed him wrecked his ability to think clearly, but the words slipped out anyway:

“I’m not entirely sure you’re actually here,” he said in a soft voice, holding Hannah’s hand in his and her eyes with his eyes. “I’ve thought about you a lot since that day in the café, and of course after the other night. I didn’t think you’d… Anyway, thanks. For being real.”

When Hannah didn’t say anything, Zach’s self-consciousness overcame his sleepiness and he looked away, letting Hannah’s hand go as well. “I mean-- God, that sounded so--”

But Hannah just made an exasperated sound and pulled him into a tight hug, kissing his cheek and then his forehead.

“Silly boy,” she murmured against his ear. “I’ve thought about you, too. Why do you think I’m here?” She loosened her grip on him and pulled back far enough that she could see his face. “I will have you know, Mowgli, that I was grounded over you. And then I sneaked out to make the grand romantic gesture of breaking into your flat so I could see you, which means that if I’m caught I’ll be in even worse trouble when I get home.”

Zach frowned. “I don’t want to get you in trouble with your family.”

“Firstly, _you_ haven’t gotten me in trouble. _I_ have. Secondly,” Hanna said with a fond smile, “you are completely worth losing computer and telly privileges over. It’s embarrassing enough that I can be grounded at my age, anyway.”

Oh, right. Her age. Zach had completely forgotten the conversation he’d had with Jack about Hannah being in secondary school. Even though she’d been drinking earlier, that could have been a fake ID. (God knew IDs hadn’t stopped Jack or Isaac.) Zach cleared his throat in what he hoped was a convincingly casual way. “And, er, what age might that be?”

“How old do you think I am?” Hannah asked slyly.

“Well, I’m really hoping you’re at least eighteen, or I’m about to be in quite a lot of trouble with more than just your family.”

Hannah giggled mischievously. “You should see the look on your face right now.” She kissed his nose quickly and closed the rest of the space between them, nestling her face in his neck. When she pulled his arm so that it draped across her and kept her close to him, Zach eagerly shifted so that Hannah could mold herself against him as she said, “No need to fret. I’m eighteen.”

Even Hannah’s silence was nice, Zach decided as they lay there together. Normally, Zach would feel pressured to say something else, to keep the conversation going, but Zach felt like he could be happy just staying like that with Hannah forever.

Hannah sighed deeply. “I ought to go home, let you get some sleep before class.”

“Oh,” said Zach, hoping his disappointment wasn’t too obvious.

“Or... You could always ask me to stay over?”

“Stay,” Zach said without thinking, then added more quietly, “please?”

“If you insist,” Hannah replied with mock reluctance as she nestled more firmly against him.

As delighted as Zach was that Hannah was staying, he had failed to account for the fact that this meant he would need to take his binder off while she was there; it wouldn’t be healthy (or comfortable) to leave it on while sleeping. So much for maintaining the illusion.

“I, um.” Zach reluctantly pulled away from Hannah and got out of bed.

Hannah started to get up, frowning. “I’m sorry. I can go--”

“No, it’s not you. It’s just…” Zach gestured vaguely toward his own torso. “If you could just pretend I don’t have to do this, that would be great.”

Hannah gave him this affectionately exasperated look from the bed, as if he were being utterly ridiculous and she thought it was cute. “Zach. I know who you are. Go get comfortable so we can sleep. I promise not to look, if that helps.”

“It does, actually.” Zach was infinitely grateful that she’d said ‘who’ instead of ‘what’. He’d been an ‘it’ and a ‘what’ to too many people over the past several years. “Okay, um, you can borrow some of my things to sleep in, if you like.”

Zach indicated his bureau drawers (trying not to think too hard about Hannah changing into his clothes), and snatched up a tank that was tight enough to sort of keep everything in place without interfering with his circulation, as well as a loose T-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms. Then he fled to his ensuite to change. When he got back, he saw that Hannah had opted to wear one of his smaller T-shirts and a pair of boxer shorts. And now it was _impossible_ not to think about Hannah changing into his clothes. Especially when he happened to see her bra tucked out of the way on the floor.

She was already lying back down on his bed, and seeing her there, curled up beneath his blankets with her head on his pillow, made Zach sure that everything in his life would be okay if only she would be there waiting for him every night...

Which was obviously an overreaction caused by the chemicals in his brain that made him attracted to this girl (who he’d really only known for a few hours cumulatively). But despite knowing the biology of attraction, or perhaps _because_ he knew how it all worked, Zach didn’t care; Hannah was lying in his bed, and as he crawled under the covers beside her, he knew he was being silly and overdramatic and that there was almost no way this would end well, but he was still _happy_.

Hannah opened her eyes to smile at him sleepily as he lay down next to her. She didn’t move, though, which Zach took to mean that she wanted him to decide how he was going to be most comfortable.

He thought about letting her stay beside him. He wouldn’t be as self-conscious that way. But he didn’t want that. He wanted to be the big spoon, as it were. He wanted to act on his vestigial wolf instincts and curl up close around her, protecting her smaller form. So after a moment of indecision he shifted onto his side and pulled her close against him, his chest pressed to her back.

She must have sensed his anxiety, because she gave a sleepy laugh and said, “Stop worrying that there’s something about you I think is strange. I can’t fall asleep with you being so tense.”

“Sorry,” he murmured, tightening his one-armed hold on her waist. “This is… new.”

“Is new good?”

“Yes,” said Zach, without hesitation. “This kind of new is good.”

“Good.”

It felt nice having Hannah so close like this. Comfortable. _Right_. Zach had spent the better part of his life feeling uneasy in his own skin. It had gotten a lot better in the past few years, but every now and then he still felt like he was at odds with his own body. Something had just been… _off_. But not with Hannah. The way her body fit against his gave Zach one of those rare and infinitely precious moments where he felt like he was exactly who he was meant to be. He’d only just met Hannah, and she’d already made him feel more like himself than anyone outside his pack ever had.

“Still not completely sure you’re real,” he murmured into her hair. But Hannah was already fast asleep.

 

 

Zach didn’t remember falling asleep, but the feeling of Hannah not being in his arms anymore and the quiet sounds of someone moving around his room were what slowly started to bring him back to consciousness. He hadn’t gotten nearly enough sleep, though, and his eyes felt heavy and didn’t want to cooperate when he tried to make them open to look for her.

Then her fingers were brushing the hair away from his forehead and she was gently shushing him. “Go back to sleep, Mowgli. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Zach tried to ask what time it was, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. Still, Hannah must have gotten the general idea because she responded with, “It’s still early.”

He wanted to ask why she was leaving, but the soothing repetition of her fingers stroking his hair was quickly sending him back to sleep.

She kissed him quickly, just before he nodded off again, and the last thought on his mind was the pleasant realisation that her lips still tasted like vanilla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So much cute we can hardly stand it! Savannah and I wrote _Star-Crossed_ mostly for ourselves, because we love Zach and Hannah so much and we needed something a little less stressful to work on. Anyway, as we hope that you enjoy this if you're fans of Zach and Hannah :) Thank you for reading!
> 
> Lenna


	2. Love They Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A companion piece to The Strength of the Wolf; Star-Crossed depicts scenes involving two original side characters (Hannah Bristow and Zach Thompson) and is meant to be read alongside the main fic. It is not essential to the main storyline, but fits with it. Fair warning: If you are not reading the main fic, Star-Crossed will make very little sense!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part II of _Star-Crossed_ takes place during Chapters 25-28 of _[The Strength of the Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3703403)_ and before Chapter 29.

THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF: STAR-CROSSED

PART TWO: LOVE THEY SAY (Tegan and Sara)

> _The first time you held my hand,_  
>  _I knew_  
>  _I was meant for you._  
>  _The first time you kissed my lips,_  
>  _I knew_  
>  _I was meant for you._

Hannah knocked on his door this time.

The moment Zach answered, she started talking as if they were already in the middle of a conversation.

“So I’ve been thinking that we ought to go out on a date,” said Hannah. “Like, a proper, soppy, dinner-and-a-film date.”

“Huh?” said Zach intelligently. He had been awake for all of half an hour before she’d arrived--thankfully he’d gotten dressed, washed up, and brushed his teeth and everything so he didn’t look a complete mess--and he hadn’t had his morning tea yet. By contrast, Hannah appeared to have been awake for hours.

“I’d like the chance to show you off.” She smiled mischievously. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Zach realized only then that they were still standing in the doorway. “Oh.” His cheeks felt warm. “Well, if you’re going to ask this time...” Zach tried to play it off as a joke but still caught Hannah’s smirk as she slipped past him. She was far too smug about having snuck into his flat before.

By the time Zach turned around, Hannah had already dropped her bag and coat on his chair and was leaning a hip against his desk.

“Anyway, I was in the area so I thought I’d stop by. Hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

“You were in the area?” Zach asked sceptically. He couldn’t think of a reason why she would have been, considering that Hannah’s house and school weren’t even remotely near his flat.

“Well.” She shrugged, pushing away from the desk and sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Near enough. Now, are you going to come over here and kiss me, or...?”

Zach was across the room and beside her before she could finish the sentence.

“I missed you,” she whispered against his lips when the kiss broke.

That was Zach’s favourite thing about Hannah (aside from all of his other favourite things about her): how forthright she was. She didn’t seem to have any trouble saying what she felt or wanted.

Zach didn’t usually have trouble with that either, except when it came to things like this. He had been raised in an environment where it was pointless to lie. Everyone had werewolf senses and could hear if he even tried to (everyone aside from his mum anyway, who could still somehow tell if he was lying even without superhuman senses). Growing up surrounded by people who either spoke their minds honestly, or (in rare cases) didn’t speak them at all, had shaped Zach’s relationship with the truth in two major ways: firstly, he never lied unless he felt he absolutely had to, and he was rubbish at it when he tried; secondly, it was nearly impossible for him to tell when other people were lying to him.

The second bit had unfortunately led to certain people taking advantage of his naivety, of his assumption that people wouldn’t lie to or manipulate him. Which was essentially the reason why his ability to speak his mind failed him when it came to... well, girls. But he was trying with Hannah. He really was.

“Missed you, too,” he murmured, and gave her another kiss for good measure.

“To be honest, though I’d happily visit just to kiss you, my main purpose in popping round was to bring you a gift.” Hannah gestured dramatically to where her bag sat on the chair. Zach pulled the chair close to the bed, surprised to find that it must have weighed at least fifteen pounds.

“How many books does that school make you read?” Zach asked, making a show of lifting it with both arms and depositing it on the bed beside Hannah.

She laughed and reached for the bag’s zipper. “Quite a few, but this is something a bit more… extracurricular.”

Hannah pulled out something that looked oddly like a long, uneven metal bar. Before Zach could ask what it was, Hannah squeezed some sort of lever or trigger and the whole thing sprung open in her hands to become a small crossbow. Zach gave a small start in surprise.

Well. He had certainly not expected _that_.

“Darling, when you said ‘gift’...” Zach trailed off as Hannah giggled.

“You said you’ll be spending the full moon with Isaac. I thought you might like a little protection.”

“I thought his control was good?”

“Near as I can tell, it’s perfect, but that doesn’t mean I want you defenceless. I’ve taken rather a liking to you, and I want to keep you around for a while.” Hannah’s smile grew as she watched what was clearly a discernible blush spread across Zach’s face. “Plus, I wanted an excuse to see you.”

To save himself from having to find an intelligent response to that, Zach kissed Hannah again, and they fell into that for a lovely five minutes or so before the crossbow poked into Hannah’s ribs and broke the spell. Zach paid careful attention while Hannah showed him how the crossbow worked, including the half dozen small tranq bolts that were in the bag.

When the lesson was over, Zach had half a mind to start kissing Hannah again, but then he happened to glance at the clock.

“Shit,” he said. “Haven’t you got school today?”

Hannah made a disappointed sound. “I’ve half a mind to _forget_ to go.”

“You can’t skive off,” said Zach. “Your school might call your family.”

“I know,” said Hannah. She sighed deeply. “But they won’t call if I’m five minutes late, will they?”

“It’s a risk.” Zach frowned. He really didn’t want to get Hannah in trouble, especially if it might mean that she wouldn’t be able to see him.

“Three minutes, then,” said Hannah. “We’re wasting time talking.”

Zach relented and kissed her again. They enjoyed two blissful minutes before he broke away. Hannah gave him a gorgeous, open, heart-melting smile.

“All right, I’ll go,” she said melodramatically. She got up and placed the crossbow and bolts on Zach’s desk, then shouldered her bag. “But we’re going out together soon. I won’t take no for an answer. What are you doing this Friday night?”

Friday… Zach thought for a moment, then remembered what was happening on Friday. It would be a risk to bring Hannah with him. Jack definitely wouldn’t like it. And it would mean introducing Hannah to Sarah. Which should have made Zach nervous, but actually sounded sort of… nice. And it wasn’t as if Sarah would know Hannah was a hunter, would she? As long as Hannah was careful to wash off the hunter-related scents, no one would be the wiser. What was the harm in it, then?

Zach walked Hannah to the door and said, “Do you like the theatre?”

 

 

They were on a _date_. An honest-to-goodness _date_.

It was everything Zach had wanted when he was in secondary school, back when he’d had no idea how to feel about himself, let alone about other people. Back when asking a girl out had been completely out of the question, and the chances of a girl being seriously interested in him were about as likely as winning the lottery.

Now he was in a dark theatre with a girl he had kissed on more than one occasion, who had stayed over at his flat with him and everything! Holding hands, being able to put his arm around her shoulders--they were such little things, but even during the more serious moments of the play, Zach couldn’t keep from smiling.

One evening out in public with Hannah was making up for years of uncertainty and insecurity, fancying girls he couldn’t have and envying how simple it was for “real” boys (though they behaved as if it were complicated). Zach was lucky to have such a supportive family, a pack who encouraged him to be who he was. He knew that, and he was very grateful for it. But it wasn’t the same as having someone like Hannah smile at him as if he were the most wonderful thing she’d ever seen.

Especially since he definitely felt that way about her.

Despite the fact that he was excited to introduce Hannah to his sister, Zach couldn’t help but feel a small surge of nervousness when the actors took their last bow and the curtains closed behind them. They shuffled downstairs with the rest of the audience and made their way toward the side door where the actors would emerge. Sarah came out smiling, and it turned out that Zach needn’t have been nervous about the introduction (apart from the fact that Sarah whisked Hannah away to talk to her backstage); what he should have been worried about was what an enormous ass Jack would be able the situation.

Zach didn’t want to fight with his brother, but he was sick of Jack trying to ruin the first really good thing that had happened to him in a long time. Especially since Jack was being a hypocrite about it. And maybe it was cold of Zach not to say goodbye to Jack, but what’s done is done.

Hannah pulled Zach’s arm around her shoulders and slipped her arm around his waist as they walked out into the street.

“Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yeah. Well, no, but I will be.” Zach sighed, frustrated. “I understand why he feels he needs to be like that, but Jack should learn to mind his own business.”

“He cares about you.”

“Caring is fine. It’s his hypocritical opinions that I can’t stand,” Zach muttered.

“Now, now,” Hannah hugged him closer, pressing her cheek into the crook of his neck. He let his head fall against hers and tried to put the fight with Jack out of his mind and just let himself enjoy the stroll. As they wandered back towards his, Zach started thinking about dessert. Luckily there was an ice cream parlour not too far out of the way.

“Are vampires real?” Zach asked Hannah as they cuddled in a little corner booth enjoying their treat. It was a question he had considered on more than one occasion. The scientific implications of vampire biology would be even more complex than those concerning werewolves.

Hannah laughed. “Why are you asking _me_? I’m not the one who’s half-werewolf.”

“No, you’re the one who’s all-hunter,” Zach countered, keeping his voice down, though there were only a few other patrons in the shop. “Despite what you see in films, werewolves keep to themselves. You are far more likely to know what other monsters are out there than we are.”

“A fair point,” said Hannah, taking a bite of the sundae they were sharing. “I haven’t studied the entire bestiary yet, and ‘V’ is toward the end, but as far as I know, they’re made-up.”

“Good,” said Zach, taking a bite for himself. “I can’t stand them. Too posh and melodramatic. And whenever they’re in a film with werewolves we’re always made to look mangy and uncouth by comparison. Honestly, it’s insulting.”

Zach tried to keep a straight face, but Hannah’s giggle was infectious. They ended up grinning at each other between the final few bites of ice cream.

“Is this the part where I not-so-subtly invite you back to mine?” said Zach.

“I suppose. Am I meant to be coy about it, when in reality I’m desperate for you to ask?”

“I don’t know, actually,” said Zach. “I’ve never had a proper date before.”

If Hannah was surprised, she did a good job of not showing it. Probably to spare Zach embarrassment about his pathetic lack of dating experience for a twenty-year-old. He appreciated it.

“Let’s go back to yours, then,” said Hannah. “I’m inviting myself if you won’t!”

* * *

“That one’s a nautilus shell,” said Hannah, tracing the spiral shell tattoo on Zach’s shoulder. She had studied up on some of his tattoos since the last time she’d seen him without long sleeves, and she was eager to show off.

“It is,” confirmed Zach, looking pleased.

“With a diagram on it that has to do with maths.”

Zach laughed. “The Fibonacci Spiral. You can find them everywhere in nature! Flowers, pine cones, even hurricanes and galaxies. There’s a mathematical sequence that describes it and--”

He broke off because Hannah was giggling at him.

“Aaand you think I’m a massive nerd.” Zach fidgeted self-consciously.

“No!” said Hannah, then amended, “I mean, you _are_ a massive nerd, but I like it.”

To emphasise her point, Hannah bent to kiss the nautilus shell tattoo, then kissed Zach’s lips briefly. When she pulled back a bit to look at him, he was smiling.

“What’s this one, then?” said Hannah. She poked at a little square with ‘Ag’ and the number 47 in it. “Wait! Don’t tell me. It’s from the Periodic Table, right?”

“Right,” said Zach. “Which element?”

Hannah chewed at her bottom lip as she considered the letters and tried to remember the last Chemistry class she’d taken. Then she clapped her hands together and gave Zach an amused eye-roll. “Silver? Really?”

“Werewolf joke,” said Zach. “But I do like silver. Its name’s etymological origins are really interesting. And the metal itself is pretty.”

“It is, at that,” Hannah agreed, running the pad of her thumb over one of Zach’s several silver earrings. Zach shivered on reflex.

Hannah was enjoying herself thoroughly. It was almost strange how much fun it was to just sit and talk with Zach, admiring how intelligent he was and being inspired by how passionate he could be when she got him talking about something that interested him. Plus, engaging him in conversation seemed to have gotten him to forget his argument with Jackson from earlier, at least for now.

This particular conversation had the added benefit of giving Hannah an excuse to touch Zach. She had learned quickly that she needed to be more conscious of how she made physical contact with him than she might with other people. She certain that Zach wasn’t afraid of her, but he still seemed jumpy when she touched him unexpectedly. At first, Hannah had put that down to insecurity about his own body, but then she reflected on how angry Zach had been when Tobias had shoved him, and what Zach had said later about men touching him, and she began to suspect that something else was to blame.

Whatever it might be, Hannah was neither thick enough nor cruel enough to ask about it. Zach was clearly trying to overcome it for Hannah’s sake, and that made her feel special, in a way. She would let Zach take the time he needed to feel comfortable with her. At least he was happy to hold her hand or put his arm around her now, even kiss her without her initiating it. But there was still work to be done, especially when Zach had fewer layers of clothing on. The tattoos and piercings were a way for Hannah to help Zach get used to having her in his space, letting her touch his skin.

They were also incredibly sexy.

“Soon you’ll have them all figured out,” said Zach. “Then what will you do?”

“Help you come up with new ones,” said Hannah. “You’ve a fair amount of real-estate left.” She slid her palm over Zach’s right forearm, which was mostly blank. The various little black-and-white images seemed to have started at his shoulder and crept down toward his elbow.

“Like what?”

“Well, obviously you ought to have a Union Jack,” Hannah joked. “Where’s your sense of patriotism?”

Zach laughed. “I’ll get one when you do.”

“I was thinking of having the Queen’s face done on my back, actually,” said Hannah, grinning.

Zach smiled at the comment, but he didn’t respond. His pale fingers were sliding over Hannah’s arms, drawing invisible patterns as they trailed from her shoulders to the backs of her hands. Zach’s eyes focused on her skin like Hannah had done on his tattoos, but there was nothing to see.

“Thank you,” Zach said finally, “for being patient with me.”

“I’ve been told that’s a virtue I need to learn.” Hannah shrugged despite the way his attention was making her pulse race. “You’re the best reason I’ve found to study it.”

Instead of answering her with words, Zach raised her hand so he could kiss the inside of her wrist, near her pulse. Hannah knew right then that if she were ever to get a tattoo, it would be right there.

* * *

The sun wouldn’t be up for hours, but Zach couldn’t stay in bed any longer. He hadn’t slept much at all that night, though he’d been able to drift in and out of anxious dreams while Jack curled protectively around him, whimpering every now and then in his sleep.

Zach slipped free of Jack’s hold as delicately as he could, then went to sit at his desk. Maybe if he looked over his homework again he might be able to get his mind off the dozens of thoughts and fears that had been plaguing him since Rodge had left and Jack had fallen asleep.

Not likely.

Hearing Dominic’s story had essentially gutted Zach, even more so than he’d let on to Rodge and Jack. He felt so self-centred, so oblivious. So many details Zach had overlooked when he’d been growing up in the den suddenly gained significance. Nic’s scars, for starters. Why had Zach never given their origins serious thought? Once he’d been old enough to understand the difference between a born wolf and a bitten one, he had just sort of dismissed Nic’s scars as remnants from when he’d been human. But he hadn’t given much thought to where he would’ve gotten scars like that, had he?

Zach had also never really considered why Nic spent every full moon alone in the loft; it was just something Nic had always done for Zach’s entire life. But surely Will wouldn’t have let one of his betas spend the moon alone without good reason, would he? Zach realised with a sinking feeling that Nic’s ‘good reason’ might be bad memories. Zach had already suspected that Jack’s control issues were exacerbated by bad memories, but Josie had actively made him improve his control. Why would Nic be allowed to just lock himself up and wait out the night?

And then there was Nic’s tendency to slip into bouts of melancholy; how sometimes his smiles didn’t reach his eyes, or he’d hide in his bedroom all evening and leave Eva and Ada to watch the twins. Zach felt horrible now for the fact that he had sometimes considered that behaviour a bit selfish.

It must have been fifteen years since Nic had joined the pack, hadn’t it? Was the pain really still so fresh, after all that time? It seemed unlikely, but then Zach considered how it would feel to lose Sarah…

Zach wanted so badly to just be angry with Rodge and Jackson for interfering in his relationship with Hannah. If it didn’t matter to Zach that Hannah was a hunter, and she didn’t care that his family were wolves, why should anyone else have a say in it? They were adults; they could make their own decisions about who they spent time with. But based on what Rodge had told him and Jack, hunters presented a threat that wolves couldn’t ignore, and the Bristows were a large clan who had loads of influence and resources at their disposal. As much as Zach liked to hope that Hannah’s family wouldn’t see him as a serious threat--or at least wouldn’t dare to hurt him--because he didn’t have wolf abilities, he was beginning to have doubts. And if Hannah couldn’t even see him without sneaking around her family, it wasn’t likely that she could protect him if things went badly wrong. And if Zach were hurt by the Bristows because he was seeing Hannah, what would Zach’s pack do to retaliate?

The logical thing to do would be to break things off with Hannah. It was clear that if he didn’t, and Rodge found out, Rodge would tell Josie, and Josie would make him do it. Josie had to think of the safety of her betas--Zach included--and keep peace with the hunters. Zach couldn’t fault her for that. He just desperately wished he could make them understand. Maybe if they see what Hannah meant to him, they could find a way. There had to be some way to make this work. There had to be a way that he could keep Hannah without starting a war between Holborn and the Bristows.

Because Zach had to keep Hannah. He _had to_. He needed her like he needed food, water, oxygen. It was absurdly melodramatic and cliché to think it, but it was true. Zach had never been so sure of anything in his life. Over the course of the time since he had met Hannah, Zach had begun to feel this increasingly strong sense of attachment to her. There was a horrible emptiness in his gut every time Hannah wasn’t near him, and an indescribable sense of fulfilment, of completeness, when she was there.

He knew what it meant. He had been trying to deny it, to brush it off as an intense infatuation; it wasn’t unheard of for humans to feel these things, after all. But somehow, at the core of him, Zach just _knew_. Hannah was his mate. For all of Zach’s human-ness, there was still a wolf inside him somewhere: an animal who had always needed the companionship and support of a pack--which was so much more than a family--and now craved the comfort of a mate--something beyond the love he knew he would feel for her even without his wolf side. The love he hoped she felt for him, or that she might feel in time.

If they were allowed time.

The thought that they wouldn’t, that they’d be forced apart, or worse, if Hannah didn’t want to be his mate, struck a deep, icy fear in Zach’s heart. He couldn’t get the image of Josie’s devastated face from several years ago out of his mind. Even the _thought_ of losing Hannah caused an almost palpable pain in his chest. Would that happen to Zach, too, if he couldn’t have Hannah? Would he break, like Josie had broken?

What could Zach do? If he told Josie that he had developed a mate bond with a Bristow, what would she do? Be lenient because she understood what a mate bond felt like, or strict because she wanted to stop it before it got worse? What would Sarah or his parents think? Would they be like Rodge or Jackson, focused on the safety of the pack at all costs?

Worst of all, what if Hannah found out what he was feeling and decided that it was too much? What if she rejected him because his wolf needed her so desperately? What if--

Jack stirred in Zach’s bed, making sleepy sounds as he woke up. Zach pretended to be working on the essay that he hadn’t touched since he had opened the file. He needed a moment to compose himself before he could look a werewolf in the face and pretend that he was okay.

He was not okay. Perhaps he would never be okay again.

Zach snapped at Jack. They fought, then they forgave. Almost against his will, Zach admitted his bond to Hannah and explained what it meant. He half-expected Jack to laugh at him, but he got an apology instead. His brother left for school, and Zach was alone.

He picked up his phone. He should end things with Hannah. It was the right thing to do. The safest option for everyone involved. But Zach’s fingers typed something else entirely.

_Me: I miss you._

The response came a few tense minutes later:

_Hannah: Miss you too Mowgli_   
_Hannah: Loads_   
_Hannah: When should I come for my crossbow_   
_Hannah: (Thin pretence, eh?)_

Zach smiled down at his phone. He should type something like, ‘Don’t come. It’s dangerous.’ or ‘I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’ But he didn’t.

_Me: Soon.  
Me: Please come back soon._

* * *

So Hannah had ‘borrowed’ a copy of the Argent bestiary. So what? Being a digital copy, it wasn’t as if anyone would miss it, would they? And really, if Isaac hadn’t _wanted_ her to have it, he shouldn’t have used Hannah’s computer when they had been at the library and then gone look for a book.

Even a quick glance at the file told Hannah that the Argents knew much more about the supernatural than they had ever shared with the Bristows. Or at least, much more than had ever been shared with Hannah.

Now _that_ was an unsettling thought. Hannah frowned as she scrolled through pages without reading any of the content. Was she being naive to think that her family didn’t know things about werewolves that Hannah knew? That they didn’t about werewolves’ ability to take pain, for example? Or that their empathy greatly surpassed that of any other creature she could find?

Hannah had been taught that werewolves were not much better than mindless beasts, only interested in killing and expanding their packs, and that without hunters, human society couldn’t survive as it did. But even after one day with Isaac--hell, within thirty seconds of meeting him--Hannah had been able to tell that he wasn’t like that at all. Then there were Jackson and Zach and now Sarah… Four werewolves (well, three werewolves and one half-wolf) and not a single psychotic in the bunch.

So was her family mistaken? Or intentionally misleading Hannah and Tobias and the rest of the younger hunters? Maybe they didn’t want hunters-in-training to know that there were positive aspects to werewolf abilities, and that werewolves themselves were scarcely different than humans. After all, it was much easier to fight--and kill, if necessary--someone if you could dehumanize them.

Fear and disgust sunk heavy in Hannah’s stomach. It made too much sense not to be true.

A firm knock on her bedroom door disturbed Hannah’s train of thought and she quickly closed the lid of her laptop, hid it beneath one of her pillows, and pulled the enormous textbook that was their own bestiary into her lap. It was a little early for studying, but they were running out of time, so it would be best to make use of every spare moment.

“Come in,” Hannah called, doing her best to appear enraptured by the dry tome.

Wendy leaned her head inside. “I saw your light was on, love. You’re up early.”

Hannah hardly glanced up. Especially given her sudden realization about her family, Hannah had very little interest in talking to one of its members who was openly hostile toward all werewolves. “Just working on the monster problem, Auntie. Have a good day at work.”

When Wendy didn’t immediately leave and shut the door, Hannah looked up properly. “Was there something else?”

Hannah tried to keep her tone polite, but it was difficult. The fact that Wendy was most likely about to say something that Hannah wouldn’t want to hear aside, Hannah wanted to be alone right now.

“Hannah, dear,” Wendy started, letting herself in to Hannah’s room without permission and closing the door quietly behind her.

Terms of endearment from Wendy were never a good sign.

“We’re worried about you,” Wendy continued. “All of us.”

Hannah tried to smile, but it probably looked more like a wince. “There’s no need to be.”

“Oh, darling, that’s because you’re too close to the situation, to that _wolf_.”

Hannah fought not to flinch at the way Wendy said the word. _Wolf_. Wendy may as well have said criminal, or monster, or worse.

“Isaac isn’t--”

“Isaac?” Wendy feigned something like surprise, even though Hannah knew it was an act. What was the point in it, anyway? They were alone; why did Wendy feel the need to play one of her games?

“Angel, we know you’ve been spending time with that other one. The halfbreed.” Wendy shook her head, tutting. “Hannah, dear, all this sneaking about, it needs to stop.”

Something cold and hard seized Hannah’s stomach. Of course. Of _course_ her family knew. How could Hannah have been so _stupid_? How could she have been naive enough to think she’d been getting away with sneaking out of the house to see Zach? It had been much too easy. Her family had several of the most accomplished trackers in England on their payroll; naturally, someone had noticed where she’d been going this past week. It would be child’s play to track her through London. God, based on the files they kept on the Holborn pack, they probably knew exactly where Zach lived. They had known all along, and they had been letting Hannah foolishly believe that she was getting away with sneaking out.

Hannah’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she held Wendy’s gaze, which had turned predatory; far more dangerous than any wolf Hannah had met. Wendy wanted her to apologise. To agree to never see Zach again. To stop being friends with Isaac and Jackson and to become a good little werewolf hunter.

“No.”

As soon as the word left Hannah’s lips, something ugly flashed in Wendy’s eyes. Hannah thought that Wendy might drop the act completely, but then Wendy smiled, recovering her mask of motherly concern.

“The world is a dangerous place, Hannah,” said Wendy. “Especially for families like ours. I’m only trying to look out for you.”

“If you want me not to see him so badly, why haven’t you done anything to stop me?” Hannah asked suddenly. After all, it wasn’t like her family wouldn’t be able to keep her from Zach if they really wanted to.

Once again, fake shock took over Wendy’s features. “Darling, why would you say something like that? There’s nothing in the world I want more than your happiness, except for your safety.”

It was all Hannah could to do bite back the derisive comment that she wanted to make.

“Sweetheart, you don’t understand that you are playing with fire, and that soon, if you do not stop, you will be burned. Our family take care of our own.” Wendy opened the door. “Please think about what I’ve said. Have a wonderful day at school.”

The second Hannah’s door closed between her and Wendy, Hannah took a shuddering breath. If Wendy was resorting to threats, there was more going on than Hannah had realized.

 _Our family take care of our own_.

If Hannah continued to side with werewolves, she would be seen as having chosen them over her family. And Hannah knew what happened to hunters who were tainted by wolves…

Her phone chimed, signalling an incoming text message. Hannah’s hand shook as she picked it up.

_Mowgli: I miss you._

Hannah took several deep, shuddering breaths before responding. She knew what she should do. She knew what would be best for everyone. She knew what the safest course of action was.

Still, she couldn’t make herself follow it.

_Me: Miss you too Mowgli_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! We've gotten some wonderful feedback on _TSOTW_ in general and on _Star-Crossed_ as well, and it always makes our day. We're so glad you like Zach and Hannah!
> 
> Lenna


	3. Somewhere to Hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A companion piece to The Strength of the Wolf; Star-Crossed depicts scenes involving two original side characters (Hannah Bristow and Zach Thompson) and is meant to be read alongside the main fic. It is not essential to the main storyline, but fits with it. Fair warning: If you are not reading the main fic, Star-Crossed will make very little sense!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part III of _Star-Crossed_ takes place during Chapters 29-32 of _[The Strength of the Wolf](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3703403)_.

THE STRENGTH OF THE WOLF: STAR-CROSSED

PART THREE: SOMEWHERE TO HIDE (Shiny Toy Guns)

> _And he said,_  
>  _“Listen, listen,_  
>  _I’m not afraid to go if it’s with you;_  
>  _I was born to live for you.”_  
>  _And I’m like Juliet_  
>  _waiting to see the sunset_  
>  _on the rise._  
>  _No goodbyes;_  
>  _I’d rather die._

Zach’s phone buzzed just as he was stepping out of the lecture hall. It was a text alert.

_Hannah: Lunch?_

He smiled down at the name on his screen as he walked out of the building, typing a quick response.

 _Me: When/where?  
Hannah: Here/now! Look up_

Zach looked up from his phone to see Hannah standing at the foot of the building’s steps, smiling smugly at him. He made his way down to her, stomach giddy with excitement.

“Surprise,” said Hannah, hanging up her phone as he approached.

“Are you stalking me now?” Zach grinned.

“Tracking,” corrected Hannah. “A very important distinction.”

Zach couldn’t help but laugh. “I suppose that, seeing as you’ve already broken into my room, stalking--sorry, _tracking_ \--is the least of my worries.”

“Too right,” said Hannah. She stepped into Zach’s space and cocked her head to the side, as if about to ask him a question. No, not a question, Zach realised. Permission.

He took the initiative and kissed her before she could ask, and enjoyed the sound of delighted surprise she made. It was novel, kissing in public. Zach had never been with someone who would’ve been comfortable kissing him in the middle of a crowded courtyard.

When the kiss broke, Zach looked down to see a bag of takeaway in Hannah’s hand.

“What’s for lunch?”

“Kebabs,” said Hannah, holding up the bag.

“How did you know I like kebabs?”

“I didn’t. It was a test. I could never be with someone who didn’t like kebabs, so I thought I ought to find out as soon as possible so we’d know if this was doomed from the start.”

 _Be with someone_...

They settled down at one of the stone tables in the courtyard. It was still chilly but Zach was more than willing to freeze a bit if it meant getting to spend some time with Hannah. It had been over a week since their date, and they’d hardly been able to see each other at all since then. After Rodger’s warning, Zach knew that he shouldn’t have Hannah over to his flat, just in case Rodger stopped by for another surprise visit. Zach was worried about what he would give as an excuse if Hannah asked to come over again, but Hannah hadn’t, which Zach could only take to mean that someone had been telling her not to see him as well.

Thank goodness for mobile phones. They texted daily, which was the only reason Zach hadn’t lost his mind.

Although the hunt tonight was one of the many reasons that he still might.

“I still don’t like the idea of you and Isaac being part of that.” Zach stuffed his rubbish into the sack between them. “I know you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, and _yes_ I know you lot have a plan, and yes I _know_ you’ll be all right, but...” Zach looked up to meet Hannah’s eyes. She was smirking at him gently, thankfully amused by his paranoia and not upset. “Is it okay that I’m still worried about you?”

Hannah laughed sweetly and put her hand over his on his knee. “Of course. You are allowed to be as concerned for me as you like.”

“Well, good.” Zach smiled back, turning his hand over so that he could hold hers.

This was what they ought to be dealing with: lunch dates scheduled around classes, not bloodthirsty monsters and families who refused to let them be together. Speaking of…

“So should I take your presence here to mean that your family have suddenly changed their policies about who you are and are not allowed to date?” Zach asked hopefully.

Hannah sighed. “If that ever happens, you will be the first to know. Not that I particularly care what they want,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Luckily, everyone’s busy preparing for the hunt instead of following me for once.”

“No school, then?”

“Not today.” Hannah shook her head, curls bouncing. “Family-sanctioned skiving off. Lucky me. Isaac’s covering for me at home.”

“How’s he doing? This stuff with Jack’s got him a bit torn up.”

“I know!” Hannah groaned. “Honestly, I can’t believe they’re both being so bloody blind. Is it really so difficult to say, ‘Oi, mate, we’re good friends, let’s be more’?”

“You don’t know Jack,” Zach said with a laugh. “Saying that might kill him. He’s not exactly the sharing sort. Especially not about his feelings.”

“Well, Isaac seems quite good at getting what he wants. If he really sets his mind to it, he and Jackson will be snogging every spare moment before the week is out.”

Zach shook his head. “Still strange to hear him called ‘Jackson.’ He’s always just been ‘Jack’ to me.”

“I still like _my_ nickname for him.” Hannah smirked deviously.

“I’m amazed you’ve gotten away with calling him that.”

“Well, _I’m_ also quite good about getting what I want.”

“No arguments from me,” Zach said, checking the time on his phone and groaning when he realised he needed to be back in class in a few minutes. “I’m sorry, I’ve got to go. I’ve got a lab.”

Hannah stood up with him. “It’s fine, I ought to be getting back anyway. Go be brilliant.”

She gave Zach a knee-weakening smile, which he couldn’t help but kiss away. Her fingers found their way into his hair, nails scratching pleasantly against his scalp. Everything was so wonderfully comfortable and exciting at the same time with her.

“Right,” Zach said breathlessly. “Um, call me later? When your family aren’t listening?”

“Count on it,” said Hannah. She flashed him another smile and waved goodbye.

Zach only properly caught his breath when she was out of sight.

How was he meant to concentrate on lessons now?

* * *

“Hannah, dear, I’m not sure you can call Isaac’s improvised assault, ‘everything going according to plan.’”

Hannah stood alone in front of Pol’s desk. Everyone else had already made their statements about the evening and had been dismissed. As far as Hannah knew, no one had noticed the two werewolves who had crashed the hunt. It had probably helped that they’d stayed hidden the entire time. Hannah couldn’t imagine what might have happened if Zach and Jackson had decided to try to help once the barrier went up.

Regardless, Hannah only needed to make her official report to her grandmother and then this entire thing would be behind them. 

“Sure, he had to improvise a bit, Gran,” Hannah countered. “But you’ve got to admit it was effective. We caught the Anthropophage.”

Pol pursed her lips in an expression that was either judgement or amusement--Hannah couldn’t tell which. Hannah was still trying to figure out if she’d be reprimanded or not. So far Pol had merely seemed to want to hear her side of the night’s events. In any case, Hannah hoped it would wrap up soon. She wanted to call Zach to make sure everything was all right. They hadn’t spoken or texted since he’d left with Jackson and that black wolf.

“Do you know why the creature was captured instead of simply killed?” Pol suddenly asked.

Hannah blinked. The question echoed something she and Isaac had been talking about earlier, but she hadn’t expected to be asked about it by her family.

There were any number of answers she could have given: sympathy for a creature so far from home (not likely), or that they didn’t know how to kill it so unconscious was the next best thing, but the answer Hannah kept coming back to was the one she decided to give.

“Be a waste, right?” Hannah asked. “No point in killing it if you can learn something about it alive.” She wasn’t entirely able to keep the disapproval out of her voice; she very much did not like the idea of experimenting on live creatures, even monsters.

Pol regarded Hannah for a long moment, making Hannah remember yet again that this woman wasn’t only the grandmother who used to drive her to the country for picnics, but was also the head of the family who had given Hannah her first crossbow.

Then Pol laughed.

“You’re a damned sight brighter than I was at your age,” Pol said as her laugh subsided into chuckles, and then a silence far more serious than Hannah was used to from Pol. “It’s a shame you are so young and that Wendy outranks you by so such a wide margin.”

Hannah didn’t know how to respond to that, so she stayed quiet. She had known from a young age that one day she might lead the family, but Hannah hadn’t really considered the line of succession before now. As Pol had just gently pointed out, Wendy was next, being Pol’s oldest daughter.

“You don’t want Wendy to take over?” Hannah asked quietly, glancing at the door.

“Have you considered how policies might change under new leadership?” Pol asked.

Hannah hadn’t really. Maybe she should have done. If Wendy had been in charge, they never would have worked with Isaac, and they certainly wouldn’t have listened to his ideas about how to stop the monster.

“What’s she planning on doing to it?” Hannah asked, not entirely certain that she wanted to hear the answer.

Pol was silent for a long time before she finally answered.

“I’ve made many mistakes, child. Allowing Wendy to set up that research facility might not be my worst, but it is the one I regret most. So much pain caused, and for what purpose?”

Hannah couldn’t remember Pol ever looking so old before, so worn down. The lines in her face that had always made her seem so regal and wise before only made her look tired now.

“Gran, what kind of research?”

But Hannah didn’t need to hear the answer, not really. Somewhere deep inside herself, she knew for a certainty that it couldn’t possibly be good. And for the first time in her life, Hannah was forced to consider that maybe her family wasn’t good, either.

* * *

Zach slept fitfully that night after the hunt, even with Jack there to comfort him. He was sick with worry over what Josie would decide about Hannah. Judging by how angry she had been at him and Jack, there was very little chance that this would end well. Now it was only a question of how badly it would go.

Jack left the next morning with a stern reminder from Josie that he was not to go anywhere except school without permission. The pack ate breakfast as if it were any other morning, but Zach had no appetite. As soon as the washing up was done, Josie led Zach, Sarah, and their mum and dad down to the basement. Josie told Zach to sit down on the sofa alone, which made him feel very small with his family and his alpha standing in front of him.

“Your son has something to tell you,” Josie said to Zach’s parents without any other preamble. She turned to him. “Don’t you, Zach?”

Zach swallowed thickly and nodded. There was no point putting it off. Maybe he would feel better when it was all out in the open. Though that seemed unlikely.

“Mum, Dad, I…”

He broke off, and the four of them stared at him in silent expectation until he continued.

“Sarah told you about the girl I’ve been seeing, yeah?”

“Hannah,” his mum offered, with a small smile, which only made Zach feel worse. His mum had clearly been so pleased to hear that Zach was in a relationship, and now he’d be letting her down.

Zach nodded. “She… Well…”

“Is she all right?” Sarah asked. Of course. Of course Sarah would be concerned for Zach’s girlfriend before thinking that Zach had done something wrong. In Sarah’s eyes, Zach never did anything wrong. She was wonderful that way.

“Yes and no,” Zach said evasively. He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Moment of truth. “Her surname is Bristow.”

The response from Zach’s dad was instantaneous. As Holborn’s former alpha, he’d be even more familiar with the Bristows than Josie was. His eyes grew wide and he took a step toward Zach.

“Hannah _Bristow_?” His voice had both anger and concern in it at the same time.

Zach nodded, hunching in on himself guiltily. He had hardly ever made his dad angry, and the last thing he wanted was to do it over someone he loved.

“Have you told him to stop seeing her?” Zach’s dad asked Josie. All business, alpha-to-alpha.

“I thought it best to discuss it with you first,” said Josie. “I’d like to consider what his parents think before I give any orders. It’s… a bit complicated.”

“In what way?” said his dad.

Josie gave Zach a look that he knew meant she wanted him to explain.

“I’m bonded to her,” said Zach. He felt the truth of the words warm him from within as he said them, even though they frightened him as well. “She’s my mate.”

If it was possible, Zach’s mum looked even more shocked than Bronagh and Rodger had done, but his dad seemed unsurprised. Zach supposed that, if anyone would understand what it was like to form a mate bond with a human, his dad would. But his dad hadn’t bonded with a _hunter_.

“I see your dilemma,” Zach’s dad said to Josie. There was a note of sympathy in his tone that wasn’t just directed at Zach when he said, “He’ll be ill if we separate them, but he’ll endanger the pack if we don’t.”

Even those two words, ‘separate them,’ made Zach’s heart instantly race with panic. Everyone except his mum turned to look at him; they could hear it. Still, his mum seemed to sense it with whatever instincts human mothers had, because she immediately went to the sofa, sat down close to Zach, and pulled him into her arms. She ran her warm palm soothingly over Zach’s back while he struggled to keep his breathing even.

Sarah came to sit at Zach’s other side. She took Zach’s hand in hers, but was much more reserved than his mum was. Zach realised with a sinking feeling that Sarah might be hurt that Zach hadn’t told her who Hannah was. He and Sarah always told each other everything. He was her anchor. She needed to be able to rely on him completely. Now he had let her down.

“What’s to be done?” Zach’s mom asked his dad. Zach could hear the hesitance in her voice, as if she knew the inevitable answer but didn’t want to accept it any more than Zach did. She didn’t want her son to be in pain.

Zach’s dad didn’t answer right away, instead frowning at some point in the air just to the left of the sofa where his mate and his pups sat. Zach had never been envious of his father before that moment, but now, with Hannah slipping through his fingers, Zach couldn’t help but desperately wish that this situation were as simple for himself as it had been for his dad.

“Please, Dad,” said Zach. “I don’t… I don’t think I can live without her.”

The words sounded so melodramatic and juvenile. Zach would’ve felt pathetic if he had any room in himself to feel something other than panic and desperation. Because even if _he_ thought he couldn’t live without Hannah, everyone in the room knew that he _could_ ; everyone in the room had seen Josie survive her mate bond. They could make Zach go through the same thing if they decided that was what was best for the pack.

Still, Zach’s dad remained silent.

“I’ve met her,” Sarah said to the group. “I know I ought to have realised she was a hunter, but perhaps I didn’t because she’s such a lovely person. She cares very much for Zach. I don’t think she would do anything to hurt him, or us.”

“If it were only a matter of trusting the girl, this would be quite a bit simpler,” Zach’s dad finally said. “But the Bristows are a large clan, and it was no small matter to achieve the peace we’ve had with the hunters since just before you were born.”

“There’s a reason your parents had you and Sarah when they did,” said Josie. “Things were uncertain for a long time. Not a good environment for raising pups. Settling things with the Bristows and the other hunters made it safe for you.”

“We never want war with the hunters,” said Zach’s dad, “but we especially can’t afford it now. Not with Justin and Colin to think of.”

Zach wished his dad and Josie would get on with it. It was more obvious than ever what they would decide. Really, the whole thing had been decided from the moment Zach had met Hannah, in a way.

“You want me to end it,” said Zach. His own voice sounded hollow to his ears. A painful coldness was spreading through him, even as his mum held him close.

“No, Zachary, I don’t _want_ that,” Zach’s dad said earnestly, finally looking at Zach. Zach was surprised to see pain in his dad’s eyes. His dad was relatively affectionate--most wolves were--but Zach had never seen him be particularly emotional. “Of course I don’t want that, son. I don’t want anything to ever cause you pain.”

Zach’s eyes stung and he needed to look away. His throat and chest felt tight. It was a struggle to speak. “But it isn’t a matter of what you want. That’s what you’re about to say.” Zach did his best to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but wasn’t entirely sure of his success. “You were alpha. You know Josie can’t give me special treatment. Just… Just get on with it.”

“Right,” said Zach’s dad. His voice was soft, resigned. But it was stronger and formal when he addressed Josie: “As former alpha of this pack and as advisor to the current alpha, my recommendation is that Zachary be ordered to end all contact with the Bristow girl.”

Though Zach had been expecting it, the words still felt painfully cold and final. There was a heavy pause, during which Sarah squeezed Zach’s hand and his mum nuzzled her face into Zach’s hair (Would Hannah have learnt wolf-comfort like that, Zach wondered, if he’d been allowed to keep her?) and ran her palm over his back again.

“Very well,” said Josie. She turned to Zach, shoulders squared, drawn up to her full height to emphasise her authority. “Zachary Thompson, by the authority I have over you, my beta, as alpha of the Holborn pack, I order you to end your relationship with Hannah Bristow and to have no contact with her in the future, either directly or through anyone else.”

Josie let her eyes glow red, because that was what you were supposed to do as an alpha if you were officially pulling rank, but it wasn’t necessary with Zach. Even if he had been a proper wolf, he’d never challenge his alpha. Not even for his mate.

“Yes, Alpha,” Zach said quietly. His body shifted instinctively into a submissive posture, but it wasn’t much different from the dejected pose he had already been holding. But then he had a thought and found the nerve to look up at Josie.

“Can I at least do it in person?” Josie looked disapproving so Zach rushed on before she could stop him. “She’s been so good to me, I-I ought to do right by her. She deserves better than a phone call or a text.”

“She does,” Sarah agreed meekly, so as not to upset her alpha.

“I can’t let you see her alone, Zach,” said Josie. “In any case, it’ll only hurt you more, and it’ll weaken your resolve.”

“What if you come with me?” said Zach. “Please, I’ll do whatever you tell me, only let me say goodbye to her face.”

Zach trembled as he tried desperately not to imagine that moment, saying that horrible word, _goodbye_ , to Hannah. Tried not to picture the look of devastation on her face. Or worse, consider the prospect that maybe she _wouldn’t_ be devastated. After all, they hadn’t been together very long, had they? Hannah couldn’t have a mate bond. It wouldn’t hurt as badly for her. Maybe there was a kindness in that, in the end.

“Fine,” Josie relented, though she did not look at all pleased with Zach. “Arrange to meet her on Saturday. Other than that, you are forbidden from having any kind of contact with her until then. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Alpha,” said Zach. “I’ll arrange it with her to meet on Saturday, and then… a-and then I won’t contact her.”

And he meant it. Despite the agony he felt at the thought of not being able to talk to Hannah, let alone having to break up with her entirely, Zach really did intend to obey his alpha.

Which was possibly why he was so shocked when Hannah appeared at his door a full twenty-four hours before their arranged meeting.

“Hannah,” he said breathlessly.

Josie was going to be _furious_ that she was here if she found out. Zach _knew_ he should ask Hannah to leave, but since all he wanted to do was lock his arms around her and never let her go, he was frozen, stuck in place by shock.

Hannah’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. “Is this a bad time?” she asked, beginning to turn away from him. “I can--”

“Don’t go!” The words were out of Zach’s mouth and his hand was wrapped around Hannah’s wrist before he knew what he was doing. A moment later, he was holding her close, arms around her waist and face buried in her hair.

She giggled in adorable confusion. “Zach? What’s--?”

“Please, just...” he trailed off. He couldn’t ask Hannah to stay without disobeying his alpha, but it would have been easier to gnaw off his own arm than to let her go now that she was with him. Maybe he could have one more night--one last perfect night to say goodbye and maybe explain properly why they couldn’t be together, without Josie looking over his shoulder. It was unlikely that Josie would want him admitting anything about mate bonds to a hunter, though. Zach was still unsure if he should tell Hannah about that anyway. The fact that not being with Hannah would cause Zach more pain than he could possibly explain wasn’t necessarily something Hannah needed to know. It would only make things harder for both of them.

“Look, I...” he tried again, leaning back so he could see Hannah’s face without letting her go. “I can’t ask you to stay.”

She smiled. “Well, it’s a good job you don’t need to ask, then.” Hannah raised an eyebrow at him even as the corner of her mouth turned up. She gave him a tentative push, coming with him when he took a step back into the room, then another, until they were both inside. Her smile widened into something more genuine when Zach threw the door shut behind them and drew her back into a tight hug.

Hannah indulged him for a few more moments, squeezing him tightly enough that Zach finally felt something relax inside of him. He hadn’t been truly relaxed since the last time they’d been together.

With his nose tucked in the crook of her neck, Zach could smell traces of wolfsbane under whatever soap she used. It tickled in his nose: another reminder of why this couldn’t last, of the fact that this might be the last chance Zach would ever get to be with Hannah...

That being the case, he should probably make the most of it.

Warmth pooled in Zach’s stomach as he started running his fingers across Hannah’s back and down Hannah’s arms, slowly letting her go. She caught his fingers in hers and tugged him back in for a quick kiss.

The look she shot him from under her long lashes made Zach lean in for another kiss, less innocent this time, and the warmth began to spread, filling up his whole body.

He was just about to pull her in for a third kiss when Hannah gave him a cheeky smirk and began making herself at home, flopping down on Zach’s bed and shifting towards the wall to make room for him. He joined her eagerly. He liked having Hannah in his bed, how she acted like she belonged there. Zach wanted her to belong there. He wanted her to stay there and never leave.

Feeling bolder due to the fact that this was likely going to be goodbye forever, Zach got his arm on her other side so he could lean down and kiss her again. It was slow and sweet, with Hannah being careful not to do anything that might startle him. When she cautiously went for the zip of his hoodie this time, he tried to make it clear with his body language that he was okay with it. He broke the kiss to shrug out of the hoodie and let it fall onto the floor. Zach basked for a moment in Hannah’s fascination with his tattoos.

“Are these and your piercings just to gloat to your pack about how they don’t heal over on you?” she teased.

“A bit,” Zach admitted. He wondered if all hunters knew that tattoos and piercings were a problem for werewolves, or if Hannah had figured it out on her own. She was sort of intimidatingly intuitive.

“They’re all things you love, aren’t they?” she said, tracing the spiral of the nautilus near his shoulder. Very, very intuitive. “Things that are important to you.”

Zach nodded his head, watching her face while she examined his arm.

“To be honest, I’m a bit envious,” said Hannah.

“Why?”

“I can’t imagine being passionate enough about one thing that I’d get a tattoo of it, let alone as many as you’ve got.”

Zach couldn’t help but laugh. “Maybe one day I’ll look back and realise it was all a silly mistake!”

“Never,” said Hannah. “They are _much_ too sexy to ever be regretted.”

She made her point by kissing several of the tattoos on his right shoulder each in turn, then the top of the wolf pawprint, near his collarbone, which made him shiver.

“And they’ll still be sexy when I’m eighty-five?”

“Absolutely,” she murmured, lips brushing against his skin as she spoke. “There will be a queue of pensioners around the block for you.”

Gently, Hannah pulled Zach down a bit closer to her so she could kiss his neck. No tattoo there. Zach’s pulse skipped and sped up. He had to remind himself that, unlike almost everyone else he was used to being around, Hannah wouldn’t be able to tell how he was feeling from his pulse or his scent. This was both a blessing and a curse; she might not be able to tell how nervous or turned on he was (that one had been loads of fun when he was a teenager and his dad and his sister and almost everyone else obviously had to pretend they didn’t notice…), but she also might not be able to tell if he was getting anxious or afraid. He needed to remember to let her know if he was getting overwhelmed.

“Too much?” she whispered, breath hot against his ear now. And of course, he shivered again.

He had to swallow before he could manage the reassurance: “No. It’s...” Zach took a deep breath and let it out. “It’s good.”

“Good,” echoed Hannah. She rolled them so that Zach was on his back, looking up at Hannah, who was smiling in victory. Her weight on top of him was slight, and she was shorter than Zach (miraculously, considering his own unimpressive height), but her muscles were clearly defined when they were in use. Zach imagined that hunters probably started strength training when they were young. Werewolves did, too, and Zach’s lack of supernatural powers hadn’t exempted him. Hannah could probably give him a run for his money in a fight, but it seemed as if she were deliberately not pinning him to the bed, perhaps for that reason.

Zach smiled up at her in turn. “I won’t break, you know.”

“I know,” said Hannah. “But I try to be careful with precious things.”

Her sincerity made Zach’s skin flush. How did she manage to be so sexy and smart and funny and sweet, all at the same time?

Since he couldn’t think of a response, Zach slipped his fingers into Hannah’s thick, tightly wound curls and pulled her down for another, deeper kiss. She made a pleased sound that was muffled by his mouth and got her own fingers in his hair, so that they were effectively trapping each other in the kiss. Zach was quite all right with that. He was all right with anything to do with Hannah.

Zach forced down all thought of guilt or fear or consequence and surrendered to her. Soon, he would be facing his alpha’s wrath. Soon, he would be in agony. But for now, he was with the person who made him happier than he would ever have thought possible. For now, he felt loved and wanted. For now, nothing mattered but Hannah.

* * *

Waking up beside Zach that morning, to him kissing her fingertips and gently brushing her hair out of her eyes, Hannah realised that she never wanted to wake up without him again.

“Good morning,” she whispered.

Zach’s response was to lean in and kiss her quickly on the lips.

“Sorry,” he said with a shy smile. “Probably ought to’ve brushed my teeth first.”

Hannah laughed. “I think it’s okay if we’ve both got morning breath. But if it’d make you feel better...” She gestured to the en suite.

Zach nuzzled his face into her neck as he crawled over her to get out of bed, making Hannah giggle when his hair brushed against the ticklish skin near her clavicle (which was exposed thanks to the fact that she had slept in one of his exceptionally soft tank-tops). The fact that Zach was becoming more and more willing to initiate physical contact without prompting made her incredibly pleased. She also loved all the adorable little mannerisms that showed he had been raised in a werewolf pack.

As Zach disappeared into the bathroom, Hannah fumbled around the floor beside his bed, looking for wherever she’d dropped her phone the night before.

A text alert flashed on the screen.

_Dad: Call me, please._

“Great,” she muttered under her breath. Her family must have realised that she hadn’t come home last night. Not like she had actually expected to get away with staying out all night, especially not with the way Wendy had been watching her every move since the hunt.

“So, last night, you never actually said to what I owed the pleasure of your company,” Zach said, coming out of the bathroom a few minutes later, fully dressed and looking significantly more awake. 

“To my recollection, there wasn’t much talking between us.” Hannah smirked at the blush that spread across Zach’s cheeks.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, we had better things to do, didn’t we?” he said in an offhand manner that didn’t fool Hannah for a second.

Hannah waved her phone and rolled her eyes. “My family are being… difficult. Spending the night with you seemed like a better alternative to going home and hearing another lecture. Honestly, it’s the best alternative to anything I can think of.”

“Are you going to be in trouble?” Zach frowned.

“On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most likely? I’d say probably a five or a six. If it were any worse than that, he wouldn’t have texted, he would’ve tracked my phone.”

Hannah sighed deeply. Despite her cavalier attitude, she was genuinely concerned. She was _really_ not looking forward to facing her family. 

Zach shook his head and smoothed the worry lines from her forehead and the corners of her mouth.

“None of that,” said Zach as he pulled Hannah into his arms and nuzzled his face into her hair.

Hannah felt her own frown give way to an involuntary giggle. “You really are a puppy.”

She tangled her fingers in Zach’s hair and scraped her nails over his scalp, giggling again when he made a sound of pleasure that was not unlike a dog’s.

“I take that as a compliment.”

“You should.”

“And _you_ should call your dad before he can change his mind about tracking your phone,” Zach said with a pointed look at the device in her hand. 

“I know, I know,” said Hannah. She tapped the call button on her phone and lifted it to her ear before she could talk herself out of it.

Zach nodded, apparently satisfied, sitting back in his desk chair and spinning around to his computer to give her privacy (or at least the illusion of privacy).

“Hannah, dear, lovely of you to call.”

Hannah paled. Why was Wendy answering her dad’s phone?

“Hi, Auntie. Where’s my dad?”

“He’s busy at the moment. But I’m the one who needed to speak to you in any case.”

Hannah hesitated for a beat.

“About?” she finally asked, stomach in her throat.

“Nothing bad, I assure you.” Wendy’s tone was sickeningly sweet, the surest way to know she was lying. “Pol and I have decided that it’s time for you to become a full-fledged hunter.”

“What?” Hannah’s eyes widened as an involuntary smile stretched across her lips. These were words she had been longing to hear since she was a little girl, and she hadn’t expected them to come so soon. She was an adult, but eighteen was still fairly young to become a proper hunter.

She spun around to look at Zach, excited to share the news. He seemed to be checking emails or something, unaware of Hannah’s elation.

“Wendy, that’s...” Hannah didn’t have the words. She still couldn’t believe it. This was what she had been training for her whole life. A _real_ hunter.

“Thank you,” she finally managed. Zach turned around, giving Hannah a quizzical look. She just smiled at him, trying to sort out how to convey her excitement.

“Of course, darling. You deserve it. You’ve really proven yourself recently.”

Hannah was just starting to wonder if maybe she’d misjudged her aunt when Wendy continued.

“So when you’re back home today I’ll help you get packed.”

“Packed?” Hannah asked, her excitement waning.

“Yes, we decided it might be best for you to get out of the city for a while. You and I will be going up north to work with another family bit. Werewolves on the moors have been restless lately. It’ll be a good chance for you to get more experience in the field.”

“But… What about school? My friends? My--” Hannah’s eyes met Zach’s.

“We’ve already spoken to your professors. Explained that you’ll be homeschooled for the remainder of the year. Your teachers were quite understanding. And I’m sure your friends will still be here when you get back.”

Hannah felt her face grow hot as the real weight of Wendy’s words set in. Hannah being made a hunter, being sent away to gain “experience,” it was all just another way for Wendy to control her, to brainwash Hannah into thinking that werewolves were only monsters to be put down. Hannah should have known that her family would never let her be with Zach, or continue to be friends with Isaac now that the hunt was over.

She’d been right not to trust her aunt. But it would be dangerous to let on that she knew what Wendy was up to.

“Of course.” Hannah forced herself to sound normal, happy even. “You’re right, my duty is to the family. I’ll be home in a bit.”

There was a brief silence on the line and Hannah held her breath, willing her aunt to believe her sincerity.

“Auntie?” Hannah spoke up before the silence could go too long.

Another beat, and then, “Yes, pet?”

“Thank you for convincing Pol I’m ready to be a hunter. I can’t wait to show you what I can do.” Hannah practically choked on the words, but she could almost hear Wendy preen through the phone.

“I’m sure I’ll be impressed. See you soon.”

Hannah ripped the phone from her ear and hung up before tossing it away as though it were on fire. It briefly landed with a dull thump on the foot of Zach’s bed before clattering to the floor.

Zach was immediately in front of her, pulling her into his arms and shushing her gently before she realised that the distressed sounds slowly filling up the room were coming from her.

“What’s happened?” Zach asked in a voice that somehow told her there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to make whatever was wrong better.

Hannah couldn’t answer. She was shaking--with anger over Wendy’s deception, or with fear that Wendy would succeed in taking her away from Zach, or both.

She needed to tell him the truth. All of it.

* * *

“They’re sending me away,” Hannah finally said once she seemed to come back to herself a bit, although her shaking hadn’t entirely stopped.

Zach had heard the word ‘packed’ and wondered. He swallowed hard, dreading the idea of being separated from Hannah even for only a few weeks.

“My family are sending me to become a better hunter,” Hannah continued, the words dropping from her lips like she couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Away from you and Isaac and my father and all the best parts of my life.” Her face darkened, her words started coming faster, angrier. “All the parts that keep me from blindly believing that werewolves are evil.”

Zach reached out, brushing her hair back, and tried to comfort her. “I’m sure that’s not what’s happening. Your family are--”

“You don’t _know_ what they are. You don’t understand,” Hannah insisted. “They know _everything_ about you. They know about your family, about your pack. They’ve known about you since you were a child and they’ve been tracking you--all of you--your entire lives.” She was pacing now, speaking even more quickly than usual. “They know where you live. They know your names. They have photographs. And they have plans for exactly how they would kill every single member of your pack, except you and your mum, if they stepped out of line.”

Zach was stunned, as much by how upset Hannah was as by her words. He had never seen her this frantic. Her anxiety sparked the empathy his wolf side had given him and sent a chill of fear through him.

“I’m also not sure they couldn’t find a way to justify hurting you,” Hannah confessed, like it was her fault. “If you happened to be there at the same time as one of your pack or something. No one would know, would they? You can’t transform, so you’re not a physical threat, but most of them don’t see you as human, either.”

The story Rodger had told him and Jack about Nic came suddenly to mind, and Zach felt sick. If hunters were capable of hurting humans for being associated with werewolves, maybe they wouldn’t balk at hurting--even killing--a half-wolf. A ‘mongrel,’ Hannah’s cousin had called him. Could a family who had raised someone as wonderful as Hannah really be so hateful?

“I’m terrified,” Hannah continued when Zach said nothing. “I love my family, but I know what some of them are capable of. I didn’t realize it before, but they’ve made it clear now. Most of your pack aren’t people to them. I keep remembering all this talk around the house about ‘maintaining the peace’ and ‘the greater good,’ and I know now what it really means. It means they’d put the lot of you down like dogs at the smallest excuse. And-- A-And we’ve given them an excuse, Zach.”

Zach’s heart sank. He was sure he knew what Hannah was going to do. She would choose what she thought was the noble, selfless path, and break things off with Zach. She’d let him go to keep him and his pack safe. Zach’s eyes were starting to sting. He didn’t care that he’d been ordered to do the same thing to her; he didn’t want this to be the end of them.

“I don’t know what to do,” said Hannah, stopping her pacing and looking toward Zach now, eyes shining with frustration. “I don’t know what to _do_. I’ve made you a target. I’ve made your family targets. People could die, essentially because I _kissed_ you. How is that real? It’s the bloody twenty-first century!”

When Zach finally found his voice, it was weak, hesitant. “If you’d known this would happen… Would you still have done it? Kissed me?”

She regarded him for a moment before responding, then said softly, “If you’d known, would you still have let me?”

“Yes,” said Zach without hesitation. It was quite possibly the most selfish thing he had ever said--an admission that he would knowingly compromise his pack’s safety for even a moment of his own happiness--but he couldn’t help it. It was the truth, and Zach didn’t know how to lie. “From the second I first saw you… I would’ve done anything you asked. I still would.”

Hannah said nothing. Zach had never wanted so badly to have the supernatural senses his family would have used to gauge how she was feeling: hearing to measure her breath and heartbeat, smell to sense anxiety or fear in her scent. But, as he had been his entire life, Zach was blind to those things.

“It’s to do with werewolves,” he rushed on, because it felt like this was his last chance to try to explain.

Zach had thought that he would never disobey his alpha for anything, even for his mate. But any resolve he had to be a loyal beta to Josie was overruled by the intense _need_ he had to be with Hannah. He _needed_ Hannah like he _needed_ oxygen. He needed to lay everything before her and hope it would be enough to convince her not to leave him. Even though letting her go would be the right thing--letting her live her life unaware of the pain Zach would live in every day without her until he died--Zach would risk Josie’s wrath a thousand times over if it meant not having to give Hannah up.

“I wasn’t sure at first,” Zach continued, “but I am now. I’ve seen the way Rodge and Bronagh look at each other. I’ve seen it in my dad sometimes.”

There was another agonizing pause.

“Seen what?” Hannah asked finally, voice barely louder than a whisper.

“A bond. Something some of us can feel that humans can’t. It’s… Sorry, it’s impossible to explain.” Zach gritted his teeth in frustration. It was so important that she understand, but at the same time, it was impossible for her to do so. “The point is, I really would do anything you asked. So just… tell me what you want me to do. Please. Even if you think I won’t want to do it.”

* * *

The sincerity and fragile hope in those perfect blue-and-gold eyes made Hannah’s heart melt. Every wall, every means of emotional defence she’d been building up to help her make the right decision--whatever that was supposed to mean--crumbled, and she knew exactly what she wanted.

“Come with me,” she heard herself saying suddenly. “Let’s leave. Tonight. Right now.”

Zach stared at her with something like disbelief, speechless.

Hannah rambled on, beginning to pace the room again. “Even if my family weren’t sending me _away_ to God-knows-where, I don’t think I could stay with them any longer, not now that I know what they do. They sit around, waiting for some poor werewolf to slip up and accidentally hurt someone so they can justify taking out the whole lot. It’s sick. And you know the monster we caught in the graveyard? It’s in some secret facility somewhere being _experimented_ on. And I won’t be part of it. I have to leave but I--”

She paused with her back to Zach, biting her lip until she was sure her voice wouldn’t betray the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. “I’ll understand if you can’t.”

Silence fell palpably between them for just a heartbeat before he answered, but it felt so much longer.

“I asked you to tell me what you want,” Zach said softly from behind her. “You did. Of course I’ll go with you.”

Hannah spun around and threw herself against him in a crushing hug. It was unclear whether the air that rushed out of him was due to relief or the sudden impact.

“I’m so sorry,” she managed between the sobs that had finally escaped. “I know how important your family are to you a-and the last thing I would _ever_ want to do is to make you choose me over them but...”

She took several deep breaths before looking up at Zach with a watery smile. “And now I’ve turned into one of those weeping girls that issues ultimatums. Some hunter you fell for.”

“You can’t fool me,” said Zach, returning her smile. “I’ve seen your right hook.”

The choked laugh that escaped her lips was enough to make her start crying all over again. Zach just held her tight, one arm securely wrapped around her waist with his other hand in her hair, thumb gently skimming the back of her neck.

“Luckily I needed a passport my first year at uni for my completely not nerdy, very, _very_ cool visit to Ireland to study lichen. The world is our oyster.” Zach pulled back so he could look at Hannah’s face and smiled more confidently than before. He even did that adorable romance film thing where he cupped her face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe her tears off her cheeks. “Can we go somewhere with lichen?”

“ _Passport_ ,” Hannah breathed, pinching her eyes closed. “Mine’s at home. Not to mention my money and all my clothes and my things. There’s no way I could get any of it. Zach, this is a nightmare.”

“We’ll sort it out.”

“Well, we had better do it quick.” She frowned. “And we had better do it somewhere other than here.”

It didn’t take long to clean the place out. Hannah finally got the chance to dress in yesterday’s clothes and borrowed Zach’s toothbrush. Her hair was absolutely hopeless, but she could deal with that later. Zach got to work packing his few belongings in his desk into his bookbag while Hannah started pulling clothes out of his closet, rolling them so that they would fit in his suitcase better. Not like there was really that much to go through. One of the benefits of living in a small room within a walking distance of his family’s home, she supposed.

“And you can wear some of my clothes for now, if you like,” he said. “I mean, I know they’re not really your style, but we can go shopping when--”

“I love your clothes,” Hannah said earnestly. She examined a pair of worn Dr. Martens and slid her foot into one, then grinned broadly. “Zach. We have the same shoe size. Do you have any idea how much fun this’ll be?”

Lastly, Hannah took off her own jacket, stuffed it in Zach’s suitcase, and swapped it for one of his. He smiled at her fondly.

“You’re going to smell like me.”

“Good,” said Hannah, “I like the way you smell.”

Zach laughed at that, which confused Hannah. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” said Zach, though he was clearly trying very hard not to keep laughing. “That’s just the most werewolfish thing you’ve ever said.”

“As keen as I am on romantic gestures, I didn’t actually do it to be sentimental,” Hannah said seriously. “If Wendy didn’t buy that I’m on my way home, she’ll have someone in place to pick me up if I’m spotted, especially ‘round here. I thought a disguise might be in order.”

Zach frowned. “I suppose that means we probably shouldn’t be seen together, either.”

“Might be best for you to take your bookbag and head out the front while I sneak out the back with the suitcase. If anyone is watching you, they won’t be able to enter Holborn territory, so we can meet up at Jackson’s.”

She could see in Zach’s eyes how reluctant he was to let her go off alone, but her own reservations aside, it was the safest plan. Hannah had no doubt anymore that her family would stop at nothing to keep her away from Zach and she would do everything she could to make sure that never happened.

* * *

They were really doing this. They were actually sitting on a plane to Mexico City. (Well, the first of several planes that would eventually get them to Mexico City.) Leaving Hannah’s family and Zach’s pack and everything either one of them had ever known behind.

All for love.

How fucking cliché, Zach laughed to himself.

Hannah had just hung up with her dad, who had been more understanding than either of them had expected, even with the notes they’d both received in the parcel that Pol had sent to the den.

Zach’s had simply read, ‘Take care of her.’ And he was planning to do just that.

Beside him, Hannah stared out the window at the tarmac, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. Zach took her hand.

“Nervous?” he asked.

“Nah,” she said, smiling at him. “Just hoping the plane gets off the ground before Wendy calls in a threat to the airport or something.” Hannah’s laugh died on her lips and she squeezed Zach’s hand a little tighter.

“Last chance to turn back,” Zach offered, though he was almost certain he wouldn’t survive it if she actually did change her mind and wanted to stay in London.

Hannah shook her head. “Not for the world, _mate_.”

Zach felt a grin spread across his face, mirroring the warmth that was spreading out from his heart at Hannah’s words, at her look of complete adoration.

It would be difficult, he knew, being separated from his pack, leaving school, moving somewhere thousands of miles away from home. Zach wasn’t naïve enough to think that having Hannah would magically make all of that not matter. But Hannah knew that it mattered to him, and she understood, and she would do everything she could to help him through it.

As long as Zach had Hannah at his side, he could find his way through anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've gotten so much love and fantastic comments on _TSOTW_ in general and on _Star-Crossed_ specifically, and it always makes our day. It's been such a treat to see how much people love Zach and Hannah, and we hope you've enjoyed getting a peek at their lives behind the scenes of our main fic. Merry/Happy Christmas, and thanks!
> 
> Lenna


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